Ohio Northern University was ranked in the top 10 as one of the “best value colleges in the state of Ohio” in a study conducted by SmartAsset, a financial date and technology company.

According to the study, ONU placed third among all schools in Ohio, finishing with a “College Education Value Index” of 71.4. Ohio State University was first overall with an index of 74.60, and Case Western was second with a value index of 72.34.

According to SmartAsset, the study looked at five factors to determine the best value colleges and universities: tuition, student living costs, scholarship and grant offerings, retention rate, and starting salary. To capture the true cost of attending a school, the rankings included tuition (using in-state tuition for public schools where applicable), student living costs (including room and board, books, supplies, transportation and other personal expenses), and the average scholarships and grants offered to students of the school.

The study also looked at what students get in return, and this included looking at student retention rate (the percent of students that re-enrolled at the institution the following year) and the average starting salary. The study weighted each of the five factors equally to come up with a ranking of schools in the analysis. With that ranking, SmartAsset created an index (a sort of grading on a curve) where the No. 1 school was assigned 100.

SmartAsset is a financial technology company that provides transparent, automated and accurate advice on big personal finance decisions. SmartAsset helps users arrive at the best answers and make the best decisions concerning their finances.

The company is based in New York City and is backed by investors including Y Combinator, Javelin Venture Partners, North Bridge Venture Partners, Quotidian Ventures, Peterson Ventures and more.