UC San Diego Again Named
‘Best Value’ College

January 12, 2010

By Christine Clark

The University of California, San Diego is ranked among the nation’s top 50 “Best Value” public colleges for 2010 by The Princeton Review, one of America’s most widely known education service companies. The publication listed its annual ranking of the 50 private and 50 public “best value colleges” today.  

The Princeton Review selected the institutions as its “best value” choices for 2010 based on its surveys of administrators and students at more than 650 public and private colleges and universities. The selection criteria covered more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs of attendance, and financial aid, using the most recently reported data from each institution for its 2008-09 academic year.

A narrative profile of UC San Diego in the Review notes: “Mathematics and the sciences reign supreme at the University of California, San Diego, and the school has an excellent reputation, huge research budgets, and an idyllic climate that have helped it attract eight Nobel laureates to its faculty. While research and graduate study garner most of the attention, undergraduates still receive a solid education that results in an impressive degree. The division of the undergraduate program into six smaller colleges helps take some of the edge off UC San Diego’s big-school vibe (roughly 22,000 undergraduates) and allows students easier access to administrators.”

UC San Diego also was recently ranked the “best value” university in California, according to the list of 100 best values in public colleges and universities by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

UC San Diego remains affordable to students and continues to deliver strong academics and a myriad of financial aid resources for students on an ongoing basis. More than half of UCSD students receive financial aid and the university ensures students are able to secure low cost educational loans.  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.

                                                                 ###
About UC San Diego
Founded in 1960, the University of California, San Diego is ranked the 7th best public university in the nation by U.S. News and World Report and has been named the “hottest” institution to study science by Newsweek. UC San Diego is one of the nation’s most accomplished research universities, widely acknowledged for its local impact, national influence and global reach. Renowned for its collaborative, diverse and cross-disciplinary ethos that transcends traditional boundaries in science, arts and the humanities, the university attracts stellar faculty, students and staff.  For more information, please visit www.ucsd.edu.

Media Contact: Christine Clark, 858-534-7618 or ceclark@ucsd.edu