Here at PrimeRates.com, we will continue our regional analysis of schools and school costs using the Camry College Cost Comparison. This article will focus on Southern Universities, which are schools located south of Kentucky and Virginia and east of New Mexico This encompasses universities located in 11 states: North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma. Here, we will primarily focus on the difference between state and private universities because many of the best universities in the South are state universities.
The southern universities that were selected for comparison are primarily regional schools that also have a national reputation. They are notable for both their academic achievements and, primarily in the case of the public schools, for their athletic achievements. Many of these schools draw students nationally for their strength across the board for what prospective college students find desirable, including a mixture of an academic environment as well as a place to enjoy a traditional college experience.
In the region, the most notable financial aid program is probably the one instituted by the State of Florida. Many top high school graduates in Florida can attend any one of the public universities in the state for free due to their lottery program. Although this is not reflected in the Camry College Cost Comparison, this effectively makes the Universities in Florida the best value for Florida in-state students in probably the whole country. Even not counting the benefits of the program, the relative low cost and appealing qualities of the University of Florida and Florida State University for both in-state and out-of-state students makes it the best value among the Southern Universities that we looked at.
Of the private southern universities, the most prominent are probably Duke, Vanderbilt, Emory, Wake Forest, and Rice Universities as they consistently rank among the best universities in the nation. Looking at the costs of the universities represented, the best value is probably found in Sweanee – University of the South, Baylor University, and Texas Christian University as they cost generally $10,000 than other universities on the list. However, universities such as Duke and Wake Forest have a strong reputation for providing excellent financial aid, therefore, the best value in the region is probably dependent on your own financial circumstances.
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