BOLIVAR, MO – Southwest Baptist University has been named one of America's 100 Best College Buys® for the 14th consecutive year and one of America's Best Christian Colleges® for the 13th consecutive year. In addition, for the third year in a row SBU has been named among schools with America's Best College Scholarships®.

Darren Crowder, SBU's director of admissions, said, “We are honored by these recognitions, because they demonstrate that we provide families with a Christian higher education experience that is ranked among the most affordable universities in the region and in the nation. Since our average ACT continues to grow along with our number of applicants, we know we are not sacrificing quality for quantity.”

For America's Best Christian Colleges®, the average high school GPA for freshman entering Christian institutions of higher education in the fall of 2008 was 3.31 and the average ACT score was 22. According to Crowder, in fall of 2009 SBU raised its average first-time freshmen ACT from 23.0 to 23.2 and high school GPA from 3.48 to 3.49.

SBU President C. Pat Taylor said, “We are pleased to see SBU nationally recognized again this year, not only as one of the best Christian colleges in the nation but also as one of the best college buys. Academic excellence is valued at SBU, but we also have been blessed to keep SBU affordable in comparison to other institutions of our size. Many competitors have total costs of more than $30,000, while our costs for 2010-2011 will be $23,000. We offer a good product for a good price. Our financial aid department works individually with students and families in providing the best possible financial aid package.

“Since 1878, we have been driven by a consistent mission. Our mission guides everything we do, everything we say, and every program. Our mission statement is as follows: ‘Southwest Baptist University is a Christ-centered, caring academic community preparing students to be servant leaders in a global society.’ We feel one of the ways in which we can demonstrate servant leadership is by being good stewards of our financial resources and keep our costs for students as low as possible without sacrificing quality.”

According to the criteria set by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc., in order to “be considered for the designation America's 100 Best College Buys® an institution must:

1.     be an accredited, four-year institution offering bachelor degrees.

2.     offer full residential facilities including residence halls and dining services.

3.     have had an entering freshman class in the fall of 2008 with a high school grade point average and/or SAT/ACT score equal to or above the national average for entering college freshman.

4.     have an out-of-state cost of attendance in 2008-200 for three quarters or two semesters below the national average cost of attendance or not exceeding the national average cost by more than ten percent.

Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. is an independent research and consulting organization specializing in the recruiting and retention of students for institutions of higher education. Consistent with its mission and as a guide by which institutions may be compared, each year Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. identifies the American colleges and universities providing students the highest quality education at the lowest cost.

For more information, call the SBU office of admissions at 800-526-5859 or 417-328-1810, or visit the website at www.SBUniv.edu/visit .

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Southwest Baptist University is a leader among private universities in truly integrating Christ-centered academic pursuits with comprehensive professional programs at an affordable price. Since 1878, the faculty and staff have created a caring, academic community to prepare students to be servant leaders in a global society. The University has been named one of America’s Best Christian Colleges® for 13 consecutive years, one of America’s 100 Best College Buys® for 14 consecutive years, and it has been named among institutions with America’s Best College Scholarships ® for the past three years by Institutional Research and Evaluation, Inc. For more information, visit www.SBUniv.edu.

SBU’s Office of Marketing and Communications is available to news media 24 hours a day at (417) 399-7918. Visit the SBU Office of Marketing & Communications online at www.SBUniv.edu/news.

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