Which CA Colleges Have The Best Value?

CALIFORNIA — Students attending the California Institute of Technology are getting the best bang for their buck, according to a recent study conducted by SmartAsset.

The study, which analyzed colleges across California based on five metrics — scholarships, starting salary, tuition, living costs and retention rate — gave Pasadena’s California Institute of Technology the best holistic grade after weighing each factor.

Harvey Mudd College in Claremont came in second, followed by Stanford University and UC San Diego. UC Berkeley rounded out the top five.

Cal Poly came in sixth, followed by three UC schools: Davis, Irvine and Los Angeles. Cal State Fresno was 10th.

The full top 10 list is as follows:

1. California Institute of Technology
2. Harvey Mudd College
3. Stanford University
4. University of California-San Diego
5. University of California-Berkeley
6. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
7. University of California-Davis
8. University of California-Irvine
9. University of California-Los Angeles
10. California State University-Fresno

Starting salary for graduates, tuition and living costs were each given a 25 percent weight in the study, and 12.5 percent was given to scholarships, grants and retention rate.

The California Institute of Technology gave out an average of $42,648 in scholarships and grants compared to its $52,362 tuition, the study found. The average starting salary was $93,100. Student living costs were $19,722 and the retention rate was 94 percent.

The weighted scores were totaled to a “Best Value Colleges” grade. The California Institute of Technology led with a score of 87.27 out of 100, followed by Harvey Mudd at 85.11 and Stanford at 82.22.

There was a drop-off to fourth, as UCSD recorded a score of 66.16.

Click here to view the study.