The University of Mary Washington is once again recognized among the "Best Colleges in America" by Money Magazine.

The 10^th edition of Money's flagship colleges list analyzes quality, affordability and future earning potential for a practical analysis of more than 700 four-year colleges. For the second year, the publication has used a star rating instead of numerical list. UMW earned 3.5 stars and is one of 22 Virginia colleges on the list.

"We hope students and parents use our list to discover new colleges that may be worth their attention, and perhaps more importantly, we want our analysis to encourage readers to think critically about what they're paying for college and what sort of outcomes they can expect in return," said Money's education editor, Kaitlin Mulhere.

Unique to the list, which includes net price of a degree, average borrowing rates, and median earnings, are "value add" calculations which measure a school's actual performance against its predicted performance. According to the methodology, these factors indicate how a college affects graduates' outcomes.

Money considers 25 different data points, with three main factors carrying the most weight: graduation rate, degree cost, and graduate earning potential. In sum, the ranking highlights schools where students are more likely to graduate with manageable debt and land good-paying jobs.

At UMW, the average time to a degree is 4.2 years, with median student debt of $20,500, which is $5,000 less than the median amount per household nationally, and half of the typical student loan debt in Virginia. Typical early career earnings 10 years after enrolling come to $60,281, with 73% of students earning more than a high school grad within six years of starting college.

For more information on student loan debt averages, see the Money story on student debt statistics.

For more on the Best Colleges ranking, view the list and details online.

Read more about UMW's affordability.