Kelly Lyons with plants teaching students
԰ Selected as ‘Best Bang for Your Buck’
San Antonio school in elite listing as one of the nation’s best in academics, affordability, and career prospects

԰ has been named to the 2016 edition of Colleges That Pay You Back: The 200 Schools That Give You the Best Bang for Your Tuition Buck, published by the 

The guidebook recommends colleges considered to be the nation's best for academics, affordability, and career prospects. Selections were based on a ROI (Return on Investment) rating, with ԰'s ROI placed at 89. In addition, the guide calculated the median starting salary for graduates with a bachelor's degree to be $43,700.

In its profile on ԰, the Princeton Review says the school "gives students a great environment, great people, (and a) great education." With an enrollment of roughly 2,250 and the requirement to live on campus for three years, the University achieves a "small-town" feel in a big state, according to the guidebook. Additionally, it credits a communication major for saying ԰ is "a close-knit university with high standards of excellence and competency that challenge students, while creating a comfortable environment."

In support of the "best bang for your buck" ranking, the guidebook notes that ԰ meets an average of 91 percent of student financial needs, including scholarships for those who are eligible. A student with a double major in French and art history described ԰ as "warm and supportive but challenging – kind of like San Antonio's weather. The plentiful scholarship money didn't hurt either." Another student, a political science major, said the University's "financial aid packages are great so there are many middle-class students and with such a smorgasbord of ethnicities, economic statuses, and cultures," the students "all learn from one another."

For life after ԰, the book cites PayScale.com's statistic that 49 percent of ԰ graduates consider their careers to be instrumental in making the world a better place. One student said the small size make it so "everyone really knows everyone, even alumni, which is really great because it makes networking so much easier."

Rob Franek, Princeton Review's senior vice president, publisher and lead author of the guide, said, "We highly recommend ԰ and all of our Colleges That Pay You Back schools. They stand out not only for their outstanding academics but also for their affordability via comparatively low sticker prices and/or generous financial aid to students with need – or both."

The Princeton Review does not rank the colleges in the book, overall, 1-to-200, on a single list. The Review, which is not affiliated with Princeton University, is also known for its school profiles and rankings and its annual books such as The Best 380 Colleges, another list that traditionally has included ԰.

Susie P. Gonzalez helped tell ԰'s story as part of the University communications team.

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