UCLA is one of the nation's best values among public colleges

By Melissa Lambarena

Kiplinger's recently compiled a ranking of the 100 best values in public colleges. UCLA came in 10th among campuses nationwide.

The top 100 are "noteworthy for their combination of top-flight academics and affordable costs," the magazine stated. Other UC campuses that made it to the top 100 included UC Berkeley (18), UC Irvine (21), UC Santa Barbara (29), UC Davis (48), and UC Riverside (99). The top three campuses on the list were University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1), University of Florida (2) and University of Virginia (3).

One of the other institutions to make it to the top 100 from the Golden State was Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (41). According to Kiplinger's, the scoring's emphasis is on academic strength, which carries more weight in measurement than that of costs.

The rankings were based on data provided to Peterson's by public four-year colleges and universities. Peterson's is a leading education service and finance company in the United States.

For the Kiplinger list, click here.