Cal Poly Pomona is No. 15 nationally and the top California State University in Money Magazine's list of the "Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value 2020." The annual listing, which was published today, is based on multiple measures of quality, affordability and alumni outcomes.
The university was also recognized as:
- 7 on the "Best Public Colleges" list
- 2 among "Best Colleges Where More Than Half of Applicants Get In"
- 10 among the nation's "Most Transformative Colleges," where students "beat the odds doing better than would be expected based on their economic and academic backgrounds"
- 22 among "Best Colleges for Business Majors"
The national Best College by Value ranking is a new high for the university, which rose from No. 41 in 2019 and No. 124 the year prior. Contributing to the rise this year was an increase in the six-year graduation rate and a re-balancing of magazine's ratings formula, which increased the weight of the affordability measures from one-third to 40 percent.
Money's seventh annual "Best Colleges for Your Money" list analyzed more than 700 colleges with graduation rates "at or above the median for its institutional category (public, private or historically black colleges and universities) or…a graduation rate [that is] unusually high when compared with schools whose students have similar test scores and socioeconomic backgrounds." Those schools were then ranked based on 26 factors in the areas of educational quality, affordability and alumni outcomes and success.
In the recent California State University article "Eye on the Prize: Never Stop Persisting," alumnus Vincent Marsala, '17 civil engineering, talked about the value of his Cal Poly Pomona degree.
"I love what I do each and every day," said Marsala. "I'm able to be part of a monumental project that's known worldwide. This site will host the Olympics and the Super Bowl.… It gave me experience in real time and helped me build relationships with people involved in the industry. Going to college and receiving a degree with a construction background directly applies to my work in the field. Being able to experience it firsthand put me well above people who don't get that hands-on experience through the university."