Birmingham-Southern College ranks top 10 nationally as a best value for private colleges by Fiske Guide to Colleges

Last year, Birmingham-Southern College shocked the world of Higher Education when they announced that the school would be reducing tuition and fees by more than 50 percent starting in the fall of 2018.

BSC President Linda Flaherty- Goldsmith famously stated, “The marketplace spoke, and we listened.”

National attention

Now it looks like BSC’s bold move is garnering national attention.

Last month, Birmingham -Southern was featured in a July 24 CNBC article about best buys for a college education.

The story was based on BSC’s inclusion in the annual release of the prestigious  Fiske Guide to Colleges ranking of the 10 “best-buy” public and the 10 “best-buy” private colleges. As a result of their new tuition reduction initiative, Birmingham-Southern  cracked Fiske’s  national top 10 Best Buy list for private colleges.

The guide noted, “In an effort to be more transparent about out-of-pocket costs, this leading Deep South liberal arts college has reset tuition and fees back to 2002 levels — decreasing these costs by more than half.”

Southern colleges joining BSC in the top 10 private college list are Vanderbilt University, Rice University and Warren Wilson College.

Bottomline financially, the reduction for this year’s incoming Freshman class is dramatic. According to news reports in 2017, tuition for the 2017-18 academic year was $35,840. Beginning this fall, tuition was scheduled to be $17,650.

Sticker Shock eliminated

In a fact sheet describing the reasons for BSC’s tuition and fees reduction, the college anticipates an increase in enrollment and diversity.

From the fact sheet:

By eliminating “sticker shock,” we expect our tuition reset to encourage more prospective students and their families to discover their net cost and the true value of a BSC education. Ultimately, the goal is to ensure that the best and brightest will have access to the life-changing experience BSC offers. As more potential students calculate not only their affordability, but also the quality and results they will get at BSC, we anticipate an increase in enrollment and an increase in the socio-economic diversity of our student body.

Dividends

It looks like last year’s decision to reduce it’s tuition is paying off dividends.  As a vital and prominent institution in the Birmingham community for over 100 years at its present location, we look forward to BSC growing and continuing to garner national recognition as one of the nation’s best liberal art colleges.