While the average student may be bombarded with issues of crowded parking and rising tuition on a daily basis, there seems to be a silver lining in attending school at the Beach.
Cal State Long Beach was ranked 70th nationally on Kiplinger’s Best Values in Public Colleges Feb. 21. The university’s place among the top 100 public colleges was based on objective measurements of academic quality and affordability.
“We are always proud to be included in Kiplinger’s rankings,” President Jane Close Conoley said in a press release. “This listing further underscores the fact that our graduates receive a world-class education, and that they do so without shouldering many of the financial burdens that other college students face today. I am pleased that the results of focusing on opportunity and access are recognized.”
A notable feature that helped the university place on the list is a low average student debt after graduation. According to Kiplinger’s list, the university’s best value is its average debt after college, $15,165, a number lower than most of the ranked public college. Overall, the university ranked among other public schools, private schools, private universities and private liberal arts colleges.
“Our rankings, which weigh affordability alongside academic quality, are a great resource for students and their parents when sorting through college choices,” said Mark Solheim, editor of Kiplinger’s magazine, in a press release. “We start with a universe of nearly 1,200 schools. We then rank [them] based on cost and financial aid data.”
The Kiplinger organization has been around since 1920 and has developed its focus on personal finance and business forecasting. It was founded by W.M. Kiplinger and is known as the “most widely read business forecasting periodical in the world,” according to Kiplinger’s website.
Students have had mixed responses on the ranking.
“This school does a lot in trying to connect students with outside opportunities,” said Jay Rodacker, a junior majoring in political science. “I regularly get emails from my department about pretty impressive internship opportunities.”
Although Rodacker saw the university ranking as a positive, senior film major Mahelet Moges thought otherwise.
“The money we spend and the resources that are given to us don’t match up,” Moges said. “If we spend our money wisely and on things that matter, unlike the ‘Go Beach’ sign, then we could definitely see positive changes in the educational aspect of our campus, as well as our ranking.”
Aside from CSULB, seven other public California universities made it onto the top 100 list: University of California Berkeley (No. 5), University of California Los Angeles (No. 6), University of California San Diego (No. 20), University of Santa Barbara (No. 22), University California Irvine (No. 26), Cal State San Luis Obispo (No. 27) and San Diego State (No. 87).
There are 26 students per faculty member, in-state tuition is $5,562 and 80 percent of financial aid need for students is met.
The university is also listed as one of the top West coast colleges. According to the 2018 edition of Regional Universities West, CSULB is ranked 39 out of all the west coast universities. Its ranking is based on U.S. News’ educational expert’s research and data gathered.
