Dodge ball looks good at local college

Despite having only 850 students, New College of Florida looms large on lists that rank colleges in everything from academics to youthful energy.

The latest list the school made is Kiplinger's Personal Finance annual ranking of the 100 best values in public colleges. The school moved up to fifth on the 2012 list, from 11th last year.
Kiplinger's cites New College's “low sticker price” of total in-state tuition, which is $15,458 a year and includes room, board, books and supplies. That price tag is less than half the average price for private schools, and is even less than the national average for public schools, Kiplinger's reports.

“We tend to have very good scores on lists that mix costs and values,” says New College Public Affairs Director Jake Hartvigsen.