Pitt was the only Pennsylvania school among the top 50 “Best Value Public Colleges and… Pitt was the only Pennsylvania school among the top 50 “Best Value Public Colleges and Universities for 2011” in a ranking published by The Princeton Review yesterday.

The Princeton Review teamed with USA Today for its third annual listing of the top 50 private and top 50 public colleges, ranking the schools based on academics, cost of attendance and strength of financial aid programs.

Princeton Review publisher, Robert Franek, said the study is consistent with the Review’s mission to provide information for students and parents, and these days people are significantly concerned with a school’s financial aid options.

Franek said that 86 percent of respondents in Princeton Review’s 2010 “College Hopes and Worries” survey signaled that financial aid would be “extremely necessary” for them to pay for college.

The Review’s research showed that average cost for a public university is $16,000 per year. Pitt’s tuition is almost $14,000. Franek said the average Pitt student receives $9,600 a year in financial aid.

“The total cost, with very high academic ranking, is only $4,500,” Franek said. “[Students] still get a stellar academic experience. Pitt is making sure that students that need are receiving financial aid.”

The College Board reports similar figures for the average amount of financial aid received by Pitt students.

Senior Jordan Fremuth, an English literature and writing major, said that when he made the college decision four years ago it came down to two things: stories of good experiences from Pitt alumni and questions about money.

“I could pay $46,000 a year to go to Ithaca, or I’m from Philadelphia, so at Pitt I can pay in-state tuition,” Fremuth said.

In Pitt’s profile on USA Today’s website, the editors praise the University for its Pitt Arts and OCC program, as well as producing graduates that have gone on to receive Rhodes, Marshall, Truman, Udall, Gates, Churchill and Goldwater Scholar awards.

The Princeton Review and USA Today continued to commend Pitt on its research programs for biology students, its top-ranked medical center and its high marks in the Top American Research Universities.

Sophomore Sam Abbott, a health and rehabilitation science major, made plans to attend the University for these reasons. She plans to participate in research at the University this summer.

“It has a good reputation for pre-med classes,” she said.

First-year medical student Enyinna Nwachuku said he stayed at Pitt through undergrad for Pitt’s top-rated medical school because he had “formed a community here.”

“Other schools need to give incentive to students,” he said. “Invest in financial aid or invest in extracurriculars.”

The Princeton Review and USA Today ranked the University of Virginia the top public college for best value, followed by New College of Florida and the University of Florida. Only the top 10 in each category receive numerical rankings. Pitt was not one of them.

The University of Pennsylvania was ranked No. 1 on the “Best Value” list of private colleges and universities. That list also featured three other Pennsylvania schools: Gettysburg College, Bryn Mawr and Lafayette College.