UCLA is once again ranked as one of the nation’s best-value public universities in annual nationwide rankings of “Colleges That Pay You Back,” published today by the Princeton Review.
UCLA came in at No. 3 in best value among public schools and No. 22 overall for best return on investment, making it “one of the nation’s best colleges for students seeking a superb education with great career preparation and at an affordable price,” according to the publication. In a related analysis of universities that provide the best value “even if you don’t qualify for financial aid,” UCLA ranked No. 12.
“Even in a time of rising fees, UCLA remains far below most of the other top research universities in total costs for undergraduate study,” according to the report. “A little more than half of the student population here receives need-based financial aid. This school prizes its diversity, and that definitely includes economic diversity.”
The 2017 Colleges That Pay You Back rankings evaluated 650 U.S. universities based on 40 indicators, including academic quality, cost, availability of financial aid, graduation rates, student debt, alumni salaries and job satisfaction.
Three other University of California campuses were ranked in the top 50 best-value schools: UC Berkeley (No. 9), UC Santa Barbara (No. 45) and UC San Diego (No. 47).
“Out of the 650 schools we considered on this project, the 200 we chose as our Colleges That Pay You Back 2017 are, in our opinion, truly the most exceptional in the nation at delivering great academics, affordable cost and great career foundations,” the report said.
UCLA has consistently performed well in a variety of national and international rankings. In October, UCLA ranked No. 2 among American public universities and No. 10 in the world, according to the U.S. News and World Report 2017 Best Global Universities rankings. In September, UCLA ranked No. 14 worldwide and No. 10 in the United States in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings. In August, UCLA was ranked No. 8 overall in the annual Washington Monthly rankings and 12th among all universities globally in the Academic Ranking of World Universities, compiled by Shanghai Jiao Tong University.
