University of Richmond Named ‘Best Value College’ by Princeton Review; Ranked as a Top 10 School for Internships

UNIVERSITY OF RICHMOND — The University of Richmond continues to be recognized as a leading value in higher education. Richmond has once again been named to The Princeton Review’s list of “Best Value Colleges” for 2025. Richmond has been included on this list since 2013.

Thanks to two major commitments this past academic year, a University of Richmond education is now accessible to even more talented students of all backgrounds.

The University expanded the number of students in Virginia who will qualify for Richmond’s Promise to Virginia — a flagship UR program — by increasing the qualifying income level. Beginning this fall, qualified Virginians whose total parental income is $75,000 or less will receive grant aid equal to 100% of tuition, housing, and food at the University of Richmond.

UR also partnered with QuestBridge, a national nonprofit dedicated to providing accessible and affordable life-changing opportunities to the best and brightest students, regardless of their financial backgrounds.

Richmond is also one of a few institutions that combines need-blind admission with a guarantee to meet 100% of demonstrated need. Additionally, all first-year applicants are considered for merit-based aid, including full-tuition scholarships and a variety of interest-based programs. 

UR was also ranked by The Princeton Review as No. 9 on the list of “Top 20 Best Schools for Internships (Private Schools),” highlighting UR’s career resources, including the alumni network and internship opportunities. UR has been on the top internships list nine times, including being ranked within the top 10 schools in that category for the past eight consecutive years.  

The Princeton Review noted that students at the University of Richmond find the school’s Career Services office “incredibly helpful and thorough,” and praise the staff for their constant outreach to students and fostering great relationships with companies.

“Internships are essential and provide Spiders with chances to gain experience, refine their sense of direction, and meet accomplished professionals in their fields of choice,” said Damon Yarnell, associate provost and executive director of career development. “We’ve designed UR’s career development program so that students pursue their interests and connect with our world-class network of employers, alumni, and parents.”

Students are invited to participate in on-campus career discovery, networking, and skill-building summits. The career team also curates a database of opportunities that align with students’ interests, hosts career and grad-school fairs every semester, and coordinates multi-day road trips to explore a variety of cities and job opportunities.

Additionally, every undergraduate student is eligible to receive  funding of up to $5,000 for a summer internship or faculty-mentored research project through the hallmark program, The Richmond Guarantee.

“When students graduate from the University of Richmond, we don’t want them to settle for just any opportunity. We want them to launch feeling energized and proud,” Yarnell said.

The Princeton Review selected 209 schools for its 2025 "Best Value Colleges" list. The selections, which include schools that earn the highest return on investment (ROI) ratings, are based on data from the company's surveys of administrators at more than 650 colleges in 2024–25. Criteria covered everything from academics, cost, financial aid, and graduation rates. The company also factored in data from its surveys of current students and alumni of the schools related to careers and job satisfaction.

"We congratulate University of Richmond along with all of the other exceptional institutions that made our ‘Best Value Colleges for 2025' list," said Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review. "They offer outstanding academics and excellent career services, and they demonstrate extraordinary commitments to affordability via generous financial aid and/or comparatively low sticker prices. For all of those reasons — and more — we recommend them highly to college applicants."

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