Five Maryland universities rank among the nation's 100 best values in public higher education, according to the February issue of Kiplinger's Personal Finance. The University of Maryland, College Park, leads the way, at No. 8 on the list. St. Mary's College of Maryland ranks No. 37, Salisbury University ranks No. 59, the University of Maryland, Baltimore, ranks No. 93 and Towson University ranks No. 97, according to Kiplinger's. The magazine uses academic factors such as SAT scores, retention rates and graduation rates and economic factors such as tuition, financial aid and average debt for graduates to rank colleges. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ranks first.

- Childs Walker