In the field of college rankings, there is currently a whole slew of lists that claim to cover "best value" schools. Each one is a little different. So what qualifies as value when it comes to the skyrocketing cost of college and exactly what it buys students?

This is a question I've been trying to answer for years. Back in 2003, in The Princeton Review's Best 351 Colleges, we published our first attempt at a "best value" ranking list: Best Academic Bang for Your Buck. It was comprised of 20 schools, and based on students' assessment of financial aid, our Financial Aid Rating, and our Academic Rating. Great academics, great price (if you qualify for financial aid). Since then, students' and parents' perspectives on "value" have expanded beyond cost and classroom--they see tuition as an investment in the future, and like investors, they want to see a return on that investment. Graduate outcomes and alumni salary figures must be taken into account to provide     applicants and parents with a clear sense of value.

                                                            
     Earning an MBA can provide business-school graduates with an increased salary, a vast network of industry contacts, and new opportunities, but the extent of these career benefits can vary significantly depending on the school.

For our sixth annual ranking of the best business schools, we looked at 60 perennially top-rated institutions that offer MBA programs and evaluated them based on the most recent data available on five metrics: reputation (determined through our annual reader survey); average starting salary after graduation; job-placement rate (the percentage of graduates employed within three months of graduation); average GMAT score; and tuition and fees.

We considered reputation and starting salary as the most telling factors of a school's worth, and these categories were weighted more heavily than the other three. Read a breakdown of the methodology here.

The revamped methodology reshuffled this year's ranks with surprising results, with the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School topping the list for the first time. The highest-ranked international school on the list is the London Business School, earning the No. 12 spot.

Read on to see the full list of the 50 best business schools in the world

                    

           U.S. News & World Report recently evaluated nearly 22,000 public high                    schools in 49 states and the District of Columbia. Schools were awarded gold,               silver, or bronze medals based on state proficiency standards, how well they              prepare students for college, and other factors. New Rochelle was not ranked.

        Do not expect any comment by New Rochelle school officials, who have always              placed PR value over actual results. Like any other ranking, survey or report              where New Rochelle does not do well, the USN&WR report will be ignored or             dismissed. Two years ago, when the district was flagged for abysmally low             graduation rates, the district tried to bury that by banning public comment on              the topic at board meetings until July (the report came out in March) when                  school was closed and few people would be paying attention. Last year, the                district failed to make AYP in one sub-group at one school, this year the district         failed to make AYP in 7 sub-groups at four schools. There has been no statement             from the district and no board discussion since the report was released in                  March.

               Melia Robinson/BI

                               Phillips Exeter Academy came out on top.

      Going to a top boarding school can do more than help students         get into a good college — it can provide them with a powerful               alumni network, a solid education, and lifelong friends.

       We examined the most prestigious boarding schools in the                                           country to find the best of the best.

      To do so, we factored in each school’s endowment, acceptance                               rate, and average SAT scores, as reported                               by BoardingSchoolReview.com. We weighed each of those                                              criteria equally to rank the schools.

     Data that was unavailable on BoardingSchoolReview.com was                     taken from the schools’ websites or from Niche.