UC San Diego a ‘Best Value’ College, According to Princeton Review

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The University of California, San Diego is one of the nation’s “best value” colleges and universities, according to The Princeton Review’s book, “The Best Value Colleges: 2014 Edition.” The education services company has included UC San Diego in its “Best Value Colleges” publication for more than a decade.

The guide, subtitled “The 150 Best-Buy Colleges and What It Takes to Get In,” profiles 75 public and 75 private colleges The Princeton Review designated as “best values” based on assessments that examined more than 30 data points covering academics, cost and financial aid.

“We are pleased UC San Diego is once again recognized as a ‘best value college.’ As a student-centered public university, it is our responsibility to ensure that UC San Diego is accessible and affordable for all qualified students,” said Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla. “We are committed to helping our students succeed by offering world-class academics and a wide array of financial aid programs.”

UC San Diego was lauded for offering a great education to students at an affordable price in “The Best Value Colleges: 2014 Edition.”

Approximately 60 percent of UC San Diego’s students receive need-based financial aid and nearly 44 percent of students receive the Pell Grant (grants for low-income students).

The Princeton Review editors noted several of UC San Diego’s attributes that help make the campus one of the most attractive colleges in the nations. “The school has an excellent reputation, huge research budgets, and idyllic climate that have helped it attract eight Nobel laureates to its faculty,” stated the Review.

UC San Diego was also praised for its excellent on-campus housing and vibrant student life. “The new 1,000-bed Village at Torrey Pines, built especially for transfer students, is one of the most environmentally sustainable student housing structures in the nation. Students also spend a lot of time at the beach or in competition, enjoying the school’s intramural sports programs.”

UC San Diego has increased its efforts to expand its access to students from diverse backgrounds, with initiatives such as the Chancellor’s Associates Scholars Program. The scholarship covers college costs including books, transportation and living expenses—essentially providing a full ride—to awardees from three local high schools that work with historically underserved communities: Gompers Preparatory Academy, Lincoln High School and The Preuss School UCSD.

In addition, UC San Diego will re-launch its UniversityLink program for fall 2015 enrollment. The program will enable low-income, high-achieving regional community college students to have a pathway of guaranteed admission to UC San Diego.

UC San Diego has been ranked as the top university in the nation for the fourth consecutive year by Washington Monthly, based on three criteria: social mobility, research and civic engagement. The campus earned especially high marks in the social mobility category for the number of UC San Diego students who receive federal Pell Grants and their graduation rates.

The Princeton Review chose the 150 schools from 2,000 colleges and universities at which it conducted institutional and student surveys for this project in 2012-13. The Review also analyzed student survey data the publication collected over the past three academic years.