The Princeton Review Ranks Cal State Long Beach
No. 3 Best Value Public College in the Nation

California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) has been ranked the No. 3 best value public college in the nation by The Princeton Review. The campus is featured in the "Top 10 Best Value Public Colleges" list in the 2007 edition of its book America's Best Value Colleges, which is being released today (Tuesday, March 28).

The Princeton Review compiled the ranking list and chose the colleges for the book based on data obtained from administrators at 646 colleges and its surveys of students attending them. More than 30 factors were considered to rate the colleges in four categories: academics, tuition GPA (the sticker price minus average amount students receive in gift aid scholarships and grants), financial aid (how well colleges meet students' financial need) and student borrowing.

"The Princeton Review's recognition of Cal State Long Beach as a great educational value for students is a wonderful 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 our students wherever possible. We also understand the value of providing high quality university opportunities to students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.

"For students at Cal State Long Beach, a high-quality education at an extremely affordable cost translates to what may well be our graduates' 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 and overall costs within higher education. This is what distinguishes The Princeton Review's national ranking from other university comparisons."

Under the heading "Bang for the Buck," The Princeton Review's profile of CSULB states: "This is the least expensive of the schools in California's CSU system, pricing in at about $2,740 less than their peer institutions for California state residents."

Founded in 1949, CSULB enrolls some 34,500 students, making it one of the largest four-year universities in California.  Students are served by nearly 2,000 faculty within the university's eight colleges, which offer 81 baccalaureate degrees (209 programs) and 66 master's degrees (98 programs) as well as two joint doctoral degrees.

Among its more notable distinctions, CSULB was the first campus to offer academic scholarships to California high school valedictorians and National Merit scholars through its President's Scholars Program, which currently supports more than 350 students among its student body. Additionally, the university is a member of the Long Beach Education Partnership, considered the national prototype of seamless education from preschool through the master's degree.

In the best value public colleges category, CSULB was ranked behind North Carolina State University, Raleigh (2nd) and New College of Florida, Sarasota (1st). Among others in the top ten were: University of Virginia, Chartlottesville (7th), Texas A & M University, College Station (8th), University of California, Berkeley (9th), and University of Oklahoma, Norman (10th).

America's Best Value Colleges offers three-page profiles of 150 of the best colleges chosen for their excellent academics, generous financial aid packages and relatively low costs. It includes 103 public and 47 private colleges in 40 states as well as the ranking lists of the top 10 best value public colleges and top 10 best value private colleges. In addition, The Princeton Review has posted a list of the schools in the book on its Web site at www.PrincetonReview.com.

-- Toni Beron