Princeton Review Again Names
UC San Diego 'Best Value' College

Feb. 22, 2011

By Christine Clark

The University of California, San Diego is again ranked among the nation's top 50 "best value" public colleges for 2011 by The Princeton Review. Today the publication, partnering with USA Today, listed its annual ranking of the 50 private and 50 public "best value colleges."

Although economic uncertainty in recent years is reflected in changes and fluctuations to The Princeton Review's 100 Best Value Colleges, UC San Diego has consistently remained on the list.

"UC San Diego remains affordable to students and continues to provide strong academics and a myriad of financial aid resources for students on an ongoing basis," said Ann Klein, director of UC San Diego's Financial Aid office.

Robert Franek, Princeton Review senior vice president of Publishing, noted "While a college education is undeniably a valuable investment, paying for college is challenging for most parents." Franek continued, "For them and for all families seeking academically outstanding colleges that have been exceptional at meeting their students' needs for financial aid, we're pleased to have teamed up with USA Today to identify and recommend these 100 institutions as 'best value' colleges."

The Princeton Review rankings come after Gov. Brown's recent budget proposal cuts of $500 million from the University of California budget.

Klein added, "We are concerned about the persistent decline in state funding for higher education and how it will affect access for California's talented, hard-working and promising students."

The Princeton Review chose the "best value" colleges for 2011 based on criteria covering academics, cost of attendance and financial aid. The methodology examined more than 30 factors using data from the company's surveys of administrators and students at 650 colleges with strong academic programs.

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

More than half of UC San Diego students receive financial aid and the university ensures students have access to a wide variety of financial aid programs.

In response to California's current economic crisis, UC San Diego recently launched the $50 million "Invent the Future" (http://inventthefuture.ucsd.edu/) student support fundraising campaign that will help fund scholarships and fellowships for all who need them.

The complete list of "best value" colleges is posted on the USA Today website at http://bestvaluecolleges.usatoday.com