Westmont Among the Nation's Best Buys

The eighth edition of Barron’s “Best Buys in College Education” has listed Westmont among the 260 best buys in college education. The book’s editors select colleges based on tuition rates, size and academic emphasis. Barron’s also factored in percentage of faculty with doctorates, percentage of entering freshmen who graduate, and percentage of graduates seeking advanced degrees.

Colleges that charged more than $35,000 in tuition, fees, room, and board in 2003-2004 were excluded from Barron’s list. Editors cite that more than two-thirds of Westmont freshmen received financial aid, an average of $11,816.

The guide profiles each college and lists information about academics, facilities, special programs and campus life.
Best Buys describes Westmont as “a campus where undergraduates ‘study’ at the beach by day and go dancing after a Westmont Warrior basketball victory at night, much like students at other California colleges. But Westmont remains very much the campus where students minister to the needy in the inner city or around the world or gather quietly together in their Prayer Warriors group.”

Editors also utilized student input for the survey and include quotes from many students in the profile.
“Westmont is a Christian college that offers a quality education that could compete with any top liberal arts program,” a recent graduate is quoted as saying. “It is a college where students can learn and, at the same time, be valued.”

Westmont is just one of nine California colleges and universities to be listed in the book. Others include: California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo; Santa Clara Universit; Thomas Aquinas College; UC Berkeley; UC Davis; UCLA; UC San Diego; and UC Santa Cruz.