Princeton Review and Money agree: The University of California offers the best educational value in the United States, according to their newly issued annual lists.
Money’s list of Best Value Colleges, an annual ranking focused on affordability and student outcomes released June 25, placed all 9 undergraduate campuses in its two highest echelons of 4.5 or 5 stars. Of the more than 700 colleges, public or private, included on the list, only 40 total earned a 5-star score; and just over 150 earned 4.5-star scores. As noted by Money in its press release, California public higher education dominated its rankings, with all 9 UC campuses also in its Best Public Colleges list.
2025 Money Best Colleges star rankings by campus
| Campus | STARS |
|---|---|
| UC Berkeley | 5 |
| UC Davis | 5 |
| UC Irvine | 5 |
| UCLA | 5 |
| UC Merced | 4.5 |
| UC Riverside | 4.5 |
| UC San Diego | 5 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 4.5 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 4.5 |
UC campuses also received top marks across a number of Princeton Review’s Best Value lists, released June 24. Most notably, of the 50 Best Value Public Colleges, 8 are UC campuses, with three in the top 10 and six in the top 25. Schools in the top 50 are ranked by their Return-on-Investment (ROI) Rating, a measure drawing from more than 40 data points covering academics, costs, financial aid, debt, graduation rates, and career/salary data, with schools that make the cut featuring stellar academics, an affordable cost, and strong career prospects for graduates, per the Review.
2025 Princeton Review Best Value Public Colleges rankings by campus
| Campus | RANK |
|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 4 |
| UC Berkeley | 5 |
| UC San Diego | 6 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 13 |
| UCLA | 15 |
| UC Davis | 25 |
| UC Riverside | 33 |
| UC Santa Cruz | 48 |
UC campuses also ranked well across other Princeton Review subcategories narrowing in on particular criteria. Four campuses ranked among the Top 20 Best Schools for Financial Aid (Public Schools), a ranking organized around their financial aid rating, with UC San Diego at No. 8, UC Riverside at No. 11, UC Irvine at No. 14 and UC Santa Cruz at No. 17.
UC performed particularly well on the Top 20 Best Career Placement (Public Schools) list, with six campuses making the cut, including UC Berkeley at No. 2, UC San Diego at No. 7, UCLA at No. 9, UC Santa Barbara at No. 12, UC Davis at No. 14 and UC Irvine at No. 16. These rankings are based on student ratings of career services at their school, as well as on PayScale.com’s salary information for alumni. UCLA also made the top 20, at No. 17, for best public alumni networks, based on college student ratings of alumni activity and visibility on campus.
Additionally, UC Riverside ranked fifth and UC Davis sixth among the Top 20 Best Schools for Making an Impact (Public Schools), based on student survey responses to questions covering community service opportunities, student government, sustainability efforts, and on-campus student engagement.
In a press release announcing the rankings, Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, referred explicitly to concerns about higher education, which the organization surveys annually in its College Hopes and Worries Report. “Among the nearly 10,000 college applicants and their parents we surveyed, 99 percent said 'Yes' to our question 'Do you think college is 'worth it'?' he said. “However, their concerns about college affordability loom large.”
"The schools on our 'Best Value Colleges' lists this year are truly exceptional," Franek said. "They offer outstanding academics and excellent career services. They also demonstrate extraordinary commitments to affordability via generous financial aid and/or comparatively low sticker prices. We commend them for all that they do to help students afford to attend them and we recommend them highly to college applicants."
Both Money and Princeton Review crunch a number of factors relating to affordability and education quality to determine their rankings. Money’s Best Value Colleges include 732 total schools ranked on 25 factors, from graduation rates, debt and employment outcomes. Princeton Review’s methodology for Best Value Colleges uses its Return-on-Investment (ROI) Rating, which draws from a 2024–2025 survey of administrators at more than 650 institutions across the U.S. Additional information for subcategory rankings can be found alongside each list description above.
The University of California consistently leads universities in the United States in undergraduate education, graduate research and the number of influential scientists among its faculty. It also ranks highly on assessments that measure social mobility and setting up students for future financial success, with alumni making an impact on the world at a young age. Visit universityofcalifornia.edu to learn more about how the University of California has a positive impact on lives around California and the nation.
