July 2, 2002

Contact: Todd Cohen, University Relations, (785) 864-8858.

National guidance counselor survey: KU offers 'best value for your tuition dollar'

LAWRENCE -- The University of Kansas has been cited as an "excellent and affordable choice for Midwestern students" and a "best value" in the country by a new college guide based on a national survey of guidance counselors.

KU is recognized as a top school in the nation for offering "the best value for your tuition dollar" by "The Unofficial, Unbiased Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges," which is based on results from Kaplan's Annual National High School Guidance Counselors Survey.

Compared with area universities, using the recently approved tuition rates for 2002-03, KU in-state annual tuition and fees are $1,798 or 51.6 percent below in-state tuition and fees at the University of Missouri; $707, or 20 percent, less than the University of Iowa; and $611, or 17.5 percent, below the University of Nebraska.

KU offers "tremendous athletics and a great assortment of majors at a very attractive price," the Kaplan guide states.

It highlights the programs in architecture, pre-med studies, nursing, pharmacy, engineering and journalism as among KU's best. The guide also calls the Spanish and Portuguese programs "exceptional" and lauds KU faculty as "remarkably accessible." In addition, it says that KU students "highly recommend KU's honor program for its small classes and caring advisers."

"KU is proud to provide Kansas students with nationally ranked academic programs and highly skilled instructors and researchers while still keeping tuition affordable," said Chancellor Robert Hemenway.

Kaplan, a provider of educational services, is a subsidiary of the Washington Post Co. The book, which does not accept any paid advertising from the schools it profiles, is published by Simon & Schuster and is being released nationwide today.

KU is a perennial pick in the Fiske Guide to Colleges, Barron's Best Buys in College Education and other college guide selections for the nation's best buys for the quality of education.