Kiplinger’s Ranks UC San Diego Among Nation’s Best Value Colleges

Article Content

Photo by Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego Publications

Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine ranks the University of California, San Diego the 14th best value public university in the nation based on its high four-year graduation rate, low average student debt at graduation, the availability of financial aid, low sticker price and overall great value.

The list of the top 100 best values in public colleges and universities will appear in the January, 2014 issue of the publication.

The rankings echo President Barack Obama’s call to make colleges more affordable. Earlier this year, Obama introduced a new initiative designed to keep colleges accountable for outcomes such as graduation rates and affordability and access—each aspects of Kiplinger’s Personal Finance criteria.

“We are pleased UC San Diego continues to be recognized for providing a world-class education that is accessible and affordable to students of all backgrounds,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “At UC San Diego, we demonstrate how education can be one of the biggest enablers for upward social mobility.”

The campus was ranked high by Kiplinger’s for social mobility, based on the number of students who receive federal Pell Grants (need-based grants to low-income students) and their graduation rates.

According to the Washington Monthly, social mobility was also a large factor in the publication’s ranking of UC San Diego as the #1 college in the nation for the fourth consecutive year. The magazine’s annual “College Rankings,” released this fall, considers how universities are “acting on behalf of the true public interest,” measuring institutions based on three criteria: social mobility, research and civic engagement.

At UC San Diego, approximately 65 percent of students receive need-based financial aid and nearly 44 percent of students receive the Pell Grant.

UC San Diego was one of four University of California schools on the Kiplinger’s top 20 best values in public colleges list.

For more information on Kiplinger’s best values in public colleges list, go to the Kiplinger website.