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UCSD ENTERS KIPLINGER'S TOP TEN OF "100 BEST BUYS"

The University of California, San Diego has been ranked tenth among the "100 Best Buys" in U.S. public colleges and universities by Kiplinger's Personal Finance.

UCSD was one of three newcomers to the Kiplinger's top-ten "Best Buys." The top 100 list, published in the article, "A Degree of Value," in the magazine's October issue, ranked colleges and universities based on graduation rates, student-faculty ratios and expenditures on instruction and library resources. Further criteria were quality of education, cost of education, and financial aid. "Overall, the formula placed greater weight on quality (71%) than on cost (29%)," the editors wrote, "because 'value' is not synonymous with 'cheap.'"

The top 12 "Best Buys" ranked by Kiplinger's are:

* University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill

* University of Virginia

* College of William and Mary

* New College of the University of South Florida

* State University of New York (SUNY) at Binghamton

* University of Wisconsin, Madison

* University of Michigan, Ann Arbor

* University of California, Berkeley

* University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

* University of California, San Diego

* Rutgers University

* University of Florida

Kiplinger's Personal Finance is available online at: http://www.kiplinger.com/magazine/