Cal Poly again named one of the nation’s best-value colleges

Cal Poly was named a 2018 best-value college by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, the university announced Monday.

Overall among public universities, Cal Poly placed 27th in the nation and sixth in California in the annual ranking, according to a news release.

The five public California universities ranking ahead of Cal Poly in the nationwide ranking were all UCs: Irvine (No. 26), Santa Barbara (No. 22), San Diego (No. 20), UCLA (No. 6) and Berkeley (No. 5).

Only two other CSU campuses cracked the national list of the top 100 best-value public universities: Long Beach at No. 70 and San Diego State at No. 87.

Kiplinger’s ranked the top 300 best-value colleges and universities based on competitiveness, graduation rates, academic support, cost and financial aid, student debt at graduation and median salary 10 years after starting school, according to a news release.

The top 300 is a combination of three smaller lists: the 100 best public schools, private universities and private liberal arts colleges. The subgroups are combined into a single, comprehensive list to see how the schools compare against each other.

Among both public and private institutions nationwide, Cal Poly placed 86th overall, rising 11 places from last year’s ranking, the university said. Among public and private institutions in the state, Cal Poly ranked 12th overall.

Aside from its overall rankings, however, Cal Poly really stands out in one particular area: median salary 10 years after starting school.

Cal Poly grads earn an average of $63,100 a decade after beginning their college education, according to the list’s salary data from the U.S. Department of Education.

On the Kiplinger’s list, that ranks the university best among all public California universities and second among public schools nationwide only to the Georgia Institute of Technology at $75,800. UC Berkeley was third nationwide at $61,800.

Kiplinger’s, a personal finance and business forecasting organization, uses data from about 1,200 public and private four-year institutions to compile the list. The rankings focused on traditional four-year schools with on-campus student housing and “broad-based curricula,” the news release said.

This story was originally published January 8, 2018 at 5:32 PM with the headline "Cal Poly again named one of the nation’s best-value colleges."