Addiction Counselor Released the Top Bachelor Degree Programs in Addiction Studies

Addiction-Counselor, a leading educational resource on the internet, is pleased to release its list of the Best Addiction Counseling Bachelor’s Degrees. Students and their families can find the list on addiction-counselor.org. The list was compiled by top educational experts who relied on numbers from the U.S. Department of Education as well as information from the colleges and universities themselves. These rankings are informative and helpful as they help students make crucial decisions regarding their undergraduate education.

Addiction Counselor prides itself on aggregating educational statistics from the best sources and its researchers are skilled at analysis and rankings. The research team began their assessment of the nation's addiction studies degree programs by evaluating each college and university by way of its retention rate, graduation rate, transfer-out statistics, cost and return on investment (ROI). When approached in such a purely analytical manner, researchers are able to provide rankings that are objective, fair, and useful for students.

Retention rate is one statistic that researchers find particularly valuable and will be of keen interest to new students. This is a measure of how many first-time, full-time students return to a given campus for a second year. It can also measure part-time students as well as returning students. It is useful because it indicates how students evaluate the institution. When students and their families are pleased with a school's curriculum, student-faculty ratio, instructors, and campus resources, they are likely to return.

As an extension of the retention rate, researchers evaluate each school's graduation rate. Naturally, higher rates indicate stronger academics, student satisfaction, and long-term success for both the student and the school. The colleges that have a higher retention rate and graduation rate among their student body demonstrates a solid higher education program.

The other metrics Addiction Counselor considers in its college degree rankings include online reviews, the school's acceptance rate, average alumni salaries, and if they offer online courses. The acceptance rate is an informative statistic because students in highly competitive schools tend to graduate earlier, if not within four years, and are less likely to transfer or otherwise leave the school. After all, if a student has to work very hard to gain admittance to such a competitive college or university, they are less likely to transfer.

When it comes to cost, most students and their families seek out the best educational value. Addiction Counselor’s researchers take cost into consideration and weigh that against every school's academics and long-term successes. The researcher team also dives deeper into the financial question than the gross cost of tuition, room and board, and class fees. The researchers look at the impact the financial aid offices have on the gross cost and rely more on the net price. After all, a savvy financial aid office can help their students with different grants, scholarships, and loans to help make the students college education more affordable.

Addiction Counselor’s researchers' goal is to provide students and their families with the best educational information possible. They achieve this by sticking to objective numbers that many students tend to overlook. After all, it's easy to be attracted to the school with the best football team and a strong Greek system. The team hopes to inform those subjective decisions with statistics and quantitative assessments of each institution on the ranking list.

Furthermore, it is important to note that the top schools on Addiction Counselor’s list of the Top 35 might not be the best for everyone. After all, the College of William and Mary might be too far away for a student in, say, Salem, OR. However, a west coast student might evaluate what makes William and Mary stand out for Addiction Counselor’s researchers and look for something similar in a West Coast school. It is also possible that a school provides an addiction counseling program which particularly speaks to a student in terms of an internship program or an outstanding faculty member.

Addiction Counselor’s list of addiction studies college programs is a guide to the best options for future mental health professionals. Students and their families are invited to make use of this list and to explore the content available on Addiction Counselor.