California State University, Long Beach has been ranked among the top 50 best value public colleges in the nation by The Princeton Reviewwhich teamed up with USA Today to present its list of the 100 “Best Value Colleges for 2009.” The list was released Jan. 8.
The Princeton Review selected the 100 institutions— 50 public and 50 private— as its “best value” choices for 2009 based on its surveys of administrators and students throughout the nation. The selection criteria covered more than 30 factors in three areas: academics, costs of attendance and financial aid.
“The Princeton Review’s recognition of Cal State Long Beach as a great educational value for students is a fitting and appropriate honor,” said CSULB President F. King Alexander. “We recognize that the ability to afford a university degree is a key issue in terms of access to higher education, and this campus has worked diligently to hold the line on costs to students wherever possible. We also understand the value of providing education excellence of the highest quality to our students who come to us from an amazing array of diverse socio-economic backgrounds.”
Founded in 1949, CSULB enrolls nearly 38,000 students, making it one of the largest four-year universities in California and the nation. Students are served by more than 2,400 faculty within the university’s eight colleges, which offer 84 baccalaureate degrees and 66 master’s degrees, as well as two doctoral degrees.
Cal State Long Beach was the only California State University campus making the list of the top 50 public institutions and one of just four public California colleges/universities on the list. The other three were the University of California campuses at San Diego, Davis and Irvine.
“For students at Cal State Long Beach, a high-quality educational experience at an extremely affordable cost translates into what will prove to be the single most valuable investment in their lives,” Alexander continued. “We’re very pleased that The Princeton Review has demonstrated the importance of value in terms of academic strength, student service, financial aid, student input and overall cost to determine which campuses are doing excellent work. This is what distinguishes The Princeton Review’s national ranking from many other university comparisons.”
The “Best Value” colleges rankings are also listed on PrincetonReview.com/bestvaluecolleges and BestValueColleges.usatoday.com, which features profiles on all 100 selected schools.
Based on students’ comments, the editors at The Princeton Review wrote in its profile of CSULB: “California State University–Long Beach is ‘very large and diverse,’ ‘affordable to virtually anyone,’ and ‘geared toward preparing students to enter the real world.’ There are eight colleges and tons of majors. ‘The academic experience at this school is what you make of it,’ says a political science major. Many CSULB faculty members are ‘wonderfully passionate’ and ‘available outside of class,’ ‘especially in the upper-level courses.’ ‘Teachers are here because they want to teach,’ says an aerospace engineering major.”
The Princeton Review is a New York City-based education services company known for its annual college, business and law school rankings reported on its Web site and in its books in several categories. The data is based on surveys of higher education institutions and students attending those schools.
“We have always believed finding the ‘best fit’ college should be the foremost goal for student applicants and their families. But the economic crisis and financial downturn have presented sobering challenges both to families struggling to afford college and to higher education institutions struggling to maintain their programs in the face of budget and funding shortfalls,” said Robert Franek, vice president/publisher of The Princeton Review. “We are pleased to partner with USA Today to present these schools for all they are doing to provide outstanding academics at a relatively low cost of attendance and/or generous financial aid.”
