Hollins University is the only private college in Virginia and one of just 27 private institutions nationwide to receive an A+ in Forbes magazine’s report of College Financial Grades for 2024.

Relying on data collected over the past fiscal year from the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics, Forbes employed nine components to measure operational vigor and balance sheet fitness for almost 900 private colleges with 500 or more full-time students. These markers included endowment assets per full-time equivalent student, primary reserve ratio, viability ratio, core operating margin, tuition as a percentage of core revenues, return on assets, admissions yield, percent of first-year students receiving grant aid, and instruction expenses per full-time equivalent student.

University Business magazine notes that “Endowment assets per FTE was the most important determinant in a college’s long-term financial health, per Forbes.”

Emma Whitford, who covers higher education for Forbes, explains, “Balance sheet strength is never mentioned on the list of must-haves. But it should be. For any student who wants to spend their college days on the same campus—especially if that school is small to begin with—selecting a financially sound school is more important than ever.”