September/October 2010 Issue

MoJo Mini College Guide: 8 Great Schools for Great Value

Our annual (and completely unscientific) guide to schools that will blow your mind, not your budget.

Illustration: John Hershey

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Read also: The rest of the 2010 MoJo Mini College Guide, plus the 2009 MoJo Mini College Guide.

Scholastic sticker shock got you down during the college admissions process? Bypass the $50,000 student loan and check out MoJo‘s selection of great schools that won’t break the bank.

Sonoma State University (CA)

Tuition: $2,754 in-state/$8,334 out-of-state

Best value for: Pinot-loving building nerds

Most famous for its wine-business program, Sonoma State is also home to the Environmental Technology Center, a sustainable-architecture think tank where students can learn the basics of green building.

University of Maine-Farmington

Tuition: $8,032/$16,768

Best value for: Ski bums with smarts

An academically rigorous public liberal arts college perched in the foothills of western Maine, Farmington caters to outdoorsy types with majors like Environmental Planning and Policy and Outdoor Recreation Business Administration.

 

 

Salish Kootenai College (MT)

Tuition: $2,844-$9,792 on a three-tier scale, depending on how much Indian heritage you can claim

Best value for: Students hoping for a different kind of res. life

Located on the Flathead Indian Reservation in Pablo, Montana, SKC, considered one of the country’s best tribal colleges, has a great Native American Studies Program (PDF), with classes like Hide Tanning, Drumming & Singing, and Coyote Stories.

University of Montevallo (AL)

Tuition: $7,230/$14,460

Best value for: Swamp things

Alabama’s only public liberal arts college. Montevallo’s Ebenezer Swamp Ecological Preserve and wetlands research center make this school a good choice for aspiring naturalists.

Bethel College (KS)

Tuition: $20,700

Best value for: Students who want to give peace a chance

This small Mennonite college houses the Kansas Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution, where undergrads can earn a certificate in conflict mediation in addition to their diploma.

SUNY-Geneseo (NY)

Tuition: $4,970/$12,870

Best value for: Take-charge types with a conscience

At this highly selective public liberal arts college in New York’s Finger Lakes region, students can learn to be ethical leaders through workshops and service-learning projects offered by the Geneseo Opportunities for Leadership Development (GOLD) program.

Tuskegee University (AL)

Tuition: $16,110

Best value for: Students who want to heal historical wounds

Tuskegee’s renowned
National Center for Bioethics in Research and Healthcare was created after the US Public Health Service’s syphilis experiments on black sharecroppers from 1932-1972.

Shepherd University (WV)

Tuition: $5,234/$14,046

Best value for: Untouchable incumbents in training

Home of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies, whose mission is “to promote a better understanding of the United States Congress.”

 

 

Read also: The rest of the 2010 MoJo Mini College Guide, plus the 2009 MoJo Mini College Guide.

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WE CAME UP SHORT.

We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

So we urgently need this specific ask, what you're reading right now, to start bringing in more donations than it ever has. The reality, for these next few months and next few years, is that we have to start finding ways to grow our online supporter base in a big way—and we're optimistic we can keep making real headway by being real with you about this.

Because the bottom line: Corporations and powerful people with deep pockets will never sustain the type of journalism Mother Jones exists to do. The only investors who won’t let independent, investigative journalism down are the people who actually care about its future—you.

And we hope you might consider pitching in before moving on to whatever it is you're about to do next. We really need to see if we'll be able to raise more with this real estate on a daily basis than we have been, so we're hoping to see a promising start.

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