By Christine Clark
LA JOLLA–The University of California, San Diego is ranked the ‘best value’ in California, according to the list of 100 best values in public colleges and universities that will appear in the February 2010 issue of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.
“UC San Diego remains affordable to students,” confirmed the university’s vice chancellor of Student Affairs, Penny Rue. “The campus offers a myriad of financial aid resources for students on an ongoing basis – in fact, more than half of our undergraduate students receive need-based support.” Rue added, “In response to California’s current economic crisis, UC San Diego recently launched the $50 million ‘Invent the Future’ student support fundraising campaign that will help fund scholarships and fellowships for all who need them.”
Kiplinger’s best values rankings were based on admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios and four- and six-year graduation rates, cost and financial aid among a pool of more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities. ranked UC San Diego 11th in the nation and the top-ranked public university in California, above UC Berkeley, UCLA and UC Irvine.
According to the magazine, colleges that topped the list continue to deliver strong academics at reasonable prices, in many cases by offering the same or more financial aid as in previous years in spite of the effects of the recession.