Nation's Best Colleges

U.S. News & World Report

2005 America's Best

Colleges

U.S. News

As a physician and parent, you knowthe value of a quality education. With theever-escalating high cost of today's colleges,it's more important than ever foryour children to select the right school.To that end, has issued its guide (800-836-6397; www.usnews.com). There are print and onlineeditions. "Rankings are helpful to applicantsbecause they rate the strength of theacademic program at each undergraduateinstitution," according to editors."As such, the rankings give applicantsinformation on a key factor to considerwhen selecting a college. Furthermore,the rankings are based onaccepted measures of academic qualitychosen after careful reporting andresearch on measuring quality in education."According to the College Board,the average cost of a year's tuition, fees,room, and board at a 4-year private collegenow reaches $27,000 and about$11,000 for a public college.