A lot of changes went into effect at New College of Florida over the last year. But one that hasn’t changed is its reputation as a high-value education, according to The Princeton Review.

The higher education authority ranked the Sarasota school as No. 20 on its list of Best Value public colleges in the country. That puts it behind Florida State University, at No. 16. The Georgia Institute of Technology topped the list. The school remains the highest ranked small liberal arts college on the list. With an enrollment just north of 700, New College was the smallest school to make the top 50 Best Value public colleges. Wheaton College in Illinois, with an enrollment of more than 2,000, made the list at No. 49.

“A classical liberal arts education, when done well, is the best education one can receive,” said New College President Richard Corcoran. “The return on investment of receiving that education at New College, where the price of tuition remains reasonable for American families, is an important benchmark we strive to uphold.”

New College scored a return-on-investment rating of 91 out of a possible 99 on The Princeton Review’s metric, which is based on 40 data points. An accompanying profile on education service’s website quotes students highlighting the narrative evaluations and senior theses. “The evaluations force students to fully participate and the professors to pay close attention,” reads a student quote included in the profile. Notably, the profile also noted a 30% minority population and a welcoming atmosphere for LGBTQ students. It also quotes students noting the convenience of the beach and downtown Sarasota as enhancing campus life, even if having fun “in a glorified retirement community requires ingenuity of the New College student population.”

Corcoran took over as president after a shakeup last year, when Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed a new majority of trustees who promptly removed former President Patricia Okker.

The school has long touted its value. It was ranked No. 29 nationally on the same list from The Princeton Review in 2022 and 2023. So this year’s rankings mark a climb up an already prestigious list.

That said, New College previously was ranked No. 3 on The Princeton Review’s Public Best Schools for Making an Impact at No. 3 in 2022 and No. 4 in 2023, but failed to make the top 20 this year. Similarly, the school previously appeared on Public Best Alumni Networks list at No. 7 in 2022 and at No. 8 last year, and did not make the top 20 this time around.

But it jumped up to No. 3 on the Public Best Schools for Financial Aid list, up from No. 7 in 2022 and No. 4 last year.

All reinforce the reputation of New College as an institution delivered a liberal arts education at a high value and low student burden. 

"The schools we chose as our Best Value Colleges for 2024 are a select group: they comprise only about 8% of the nation’s four-year undergraduate institutions,” said Rob Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review, in a statement about the rankings.

“We commend their administrators, faculties, staff, and alumni for all they are doing to educate their students and guide them to success in their careers. These colleges are also exceptional for the generous amount of financial aid they award to students with need and/or for their comparatively low cost of attendance.”