Jul 01, 2024 CSUCI ranks in top 15% of Money Magazine's 'Best Colleges in America'

July 1, 2024 - In its 2024 list of the "Best Colleges in America," Money Magazine ranked CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) in the top 15% of the country's top 745 colleges.

Money selects the top 745 colleges based on graduation rates, cost of attendance, financial aid, alumni salaries and more. Then, Money assigns a star rating system based on affordability, access and success factors. CSUCI earned 4.5 out of 5 stars on a 5-star rating scale.

All 23 of the campuses in the CSU system made the "top colleges" list, with each CSU campus earning at least four stars.

"I am extremely proud to see all of the CSU's 23 universities on Money Magazine's 'Best Colleges in America' ranking," said CSU Chancellor Mildred García. "While I am very pleased, I am also unsurprised, because the ranking's criteria reflect the mission and core values of the CSU: authentic access, student success, social mobility, affordability, and preparing diverse students for a lifetime of prosperity, fulfillment and service."

Rather than using numerical rankings to order the colleges, Money uses a rating system that they say more accurately represents the variation in colleges' performance. Money also includes some details about the college, its setting, its academic programs, and campus life.

"With about 5,000 undergrads, CSUCI offers over 50 academic programs, including interdisciplinary programs like Chicana/o Studies and Mechatronics Engineering," Money staffers wrote. "The campus is gorgeous, located 25 miles from Malibu and among lemon groves. Every day at 11:55 a.m., the alma mater plays from the Bell Tower carillon, echoing across the nearly 1,200-acre campus."

In addition to receiving high ratings in Money's overall list of the nation's best colleges, CSUCI is included in the publication's list of the country's "Best Public Colleges" and its list of the "Best Colleges in the West." CSUCI is one of the 18 CSUs included in Money's list of the "Best Colleges with High Acceptance Rates."

At about $6,000 per academic year, CSU tuition is among the lowest in the country. Nearly 80% of undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid, and more than half of them graduate with zero student loan debt.

To read the Best Colleges rankings, visit: Money's Best Colleges.