Kiplinger’s Names Cal Poly a ‘Best Value in Public Colleges’

SAN LUIS OBISPO – Washington, D.C.-based business publication Kiplinger’s Personal Finance names Cal Poly as one of its “100 Best Values in Public Colleges 2009-10” in its February magazine.

Cal Poly comes in at No. 50 on the list of 100 public universities from around the U.S. for in-state students and No. 47 for out-of-state students.

It joins seven University of California campuses (including San Diego, UCLA, Berkeley, Irvine, Santa Barbara, Davis and Santa Cruz). Cal Poly is the only California State University campus on the list.

Kiplinger’s develops its list on a combination of academics and affordability, through a mix of its own reporting and existing data on more than 500 public, four-year colleges and universities. The list is narrowed on measures of academic quality – including SAT and ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-to-faculty ratios and graduation rates. Tuition costs and financial aid are then used to rank the schools (though academic quality still makes up two-thirds of the weight in the scoring system).

“Our inclusion on the Kiplinger’s list illustrates what we have long believed and said: Cal Poly is among the best bargains in higher education,” said Cal Poly President Warren J. Baker. “The relatively low cost of a Cal Poly education and the benefits of our polytechnic mission and learn-by-doing model add up to a good investment for our students.”

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tops the Kiplinger list, followed but the University of Florida, the University of Virginia, The College of William and Mary and State University of New York at Binghamton.

Cal Poly’s in-state ranking rose from No. 58 in Kiplinger’s list a year ago. And Cal Poly is among the most selective on the current last, placing at No. 5 for admission rates with 34 percent (behind UC Berkeley, UCLA, Chapel Hill and William and Mary).

To view the entire Kiplinger Top 100 list, visit http://www.kiplinger.com/tools/colleges/pubcollege.php.

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