Kiplinger's best value colleges: UCLA makes the list

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According to Kiplinger's annual list of the 100 best bargains among the country's public colleges, no UC school makes the top ten, but several do make the cut.

Which ones, you ask?

Leading the pack for in-state students is UC San Diego, ranked 12th overall. UCLA sits just below it, coming in 13th among the nation's public universities. UC Berkeley and UC Irvine scored just a notch below, ranked 16th and 17th respectively.

Overall, California schools landed 10 spots in the top 100, more than any other state except New York, which had 11. Kiplinger says it ranks the colleges based on academic quality, student-to-faculty ratio, admission rate and the four-year graduation rate.

"Faced with a state budget crisis of epic proportions," according to Kiplinger, UC schools jacked up costs as much as $3,500 a year for in-state students and $4,000 per year for those coming in from out-of-state.

In spite of the price increase, however, "UC schools stand out for their relatively low average debt and impressively high six-year graduation rates," states Kiplinger.

Other California schools that made the list are 34th ranked UC Santa Barbara, 37th ranked UC Davis and 50th ranked California Polytechnic State University. UC Santa Cruz at No. 69, Cal State Long Beach at No. 79 and San Diego State University at No. 92 round out the list.

Overall, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was deemed the top value.

Still, if you're looking for a good deal and you don't mind waiting six or seven years to get a degree, California appears to be chock full of options.