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Kiplinger’s Personal Finance has ranked Westmont in the top 100 liberal arts colleges in its Best Values in Private Colleges list. The report, which named Westmont #88, ranked the schools based on outstanding academics and great economic value.

Kiplinger’s noted Westmont’s high four-year graduation rate, low average student debt at graduation, good student-to-faculty ratio, excellent on-campus resources and overall great value.

“The institutions on Kiplinger’s rankings for best value in private colleges represent schools that provide high-quality academics as well as affordable cost even in these tough times,” said Jane Bennett Clark, senior associate editor for Kiplinger’s. “With money tight and the college choice so important, you have every reason to expect the best bang for your buck.”

In Sept. 2011, the Department of Education released figures that showed a steep increase of borrowers defaulting on federal student loans, but Westmont students were repaying theirs. The DOE reported the cohort default rates increased for all sectors — from 6 to 7.2 percent for public institutions and from 4 to 4.6 percent for private institutions. Westmont’s default rate decreased from 1.3 percent to .9 percent in 2009.

Westmont continues to move up in rankings of colleges and universities this year. Earlier, Forbes magazine recognized Westmont in their 2012 America’s Top Colleges list, which includes only 650 institutions nationwide. Westmont ranks 76th, up from 81^st last year. Westmont leaped nine spots in the best liberal arts colleges ranked in U.S. News & World Report’s “America’s Best Colleges, 2012 Edition.” Of the nation’s 252 liberal arts colleges in this list, Westmont finished tied for 90th.