Virginia Tech is again ranked among the top public colleges and universities in the nation to offer a high quality education at an affordable price, according to Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.

The Kiplinger "100: Best Values in Public Colleges" list, released today for its February 2011 issue, ranks Virginia Tech 24th among 100 institutions "that combine outstanding economic value with a first-class education," according to the publication's editors.

Since 2006, Kiplinger’s has ranked Virginia Tech among the top 25 public universities for its value in this annual survey.

According to the magazine’s editors, private colleges cost, on average $36,000 a year — a sharp difference to the public schools listed in the February issue.

“Despite rising tuition costs, there are still many first-rate institutions providing outstanding academics at an affordable price,” said Janet Bodnar, editor of Kiplinger’s. “Schools like these on the Kiplinger 100 list prove graduates can enter the workforce with a great education — and without a huge cloud of debt.”

Virginia Tech continues to increase its affordability for students by increasing instructional funding for student financial aid. More than 60 percent of Virginia Tech students receive some type of financial aid.

The Funds for the Future program, for example, protects certain groups of low-income undergraduates from increases in tuition and fees, and reduces other unmet needs for certain groups of low-income undergraduates.

Presidential Campus Enrichment Awards assists academically talented, low-income high school students from Virginia who demonstrate persistence and a commitment to academic excellence.

Six Virginia schools made Kiplinger’s 2011 list; the University of Virginia and the College of William and Mary were third and fourth, respectively, behind the University of North Carolina and the University of Florida. James Madison University was ranked 19th; the University of Mary Washington was 26th, and George Mason University was 61st.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

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