Mississippi's Universities and Colleges honored by Forbes

Forbes Magazine ranks Mississippi State among the top 20 of its top 100 Best College Buys in America.

The national business publication's survey of colleges listed MSU as 18th among schools where students "get the most quality for each tuition dollar spent."

Two other Mississippi colleges were among the Top 100 Best College Buys, as Mississippi College ranked 24th and Millsaps College was 39th.

"Mississippi State is committed to providing an outstanding, affordable education for our students," said university President Mark Keenum in response to the magazine's report. "To be recognized by such a reputable publication confirms that we are succeeding in our goal of being the premier education center for the state of Mississippi."

The Forbes "Best Buy" formula divides a school's overall quality score, as determined by the methodology for ranking colleges, by the tuition rate for the 2003-04 to 2006-07 academic years, after allowances for scholarships.

In a separate listing, America’s Best Colleges 2009, Forbes ranked Millsaps at 101, the highest ranking for a Mississippi school. Mississippi State, the University of Mississippi and the University of Southern Mississippi made the Top 100 public school list, as MSU was 46th, Ole Miss was 50th and USM was 65th.