Cal State San Bernardino has been named one of the Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value by Money magazine in its 2020 listing of the top colleges in the nation.

Money ranked CSUSB No. 86 out of 739 colleges and universities in the listing. Also, in a separate ranking, the magazine ranked CSUSB 28th among the 50 Best Colleges Where More Than Half of Applicants Get In.

“We are thrilled to be listed as one of the nation’s best colleges. It reaffirms our mission to provide our students, many of whom are the first in their families to attend college, with an outstanding yet challenging education delivered by amazing and dedicated faculty and staff,” said CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales. “

The magazine listed CSUSB’s offerings, including glassblowing facilities, a crime analysis lab, and an electronic music studio, and that CSUSB had developed a variety of focused student support programs, including its Veterans Success Center and Coyote First STEP (Student Transition Enhancement Program), a free summer program for incoming students aimed at helping them improve their math skills before the semester starts.

Money also listed that CSUSB is designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution with a student body that is 63 percent Hispanic. The university has a 57 percent graduation rate, which is an impressive 50 percent above institutions with similar student populations, according to Money’s calculations. As for student life, CSUSB boasts more than 100 organizations.

For the Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value, each of the colleges were listed in six categories: Estimated price 2020-21 without aid, estimated price with average grant, percentage of students who get grants, graduation rate, average student debt and early career earnings. 

For CSUSB:

  • Estimated price 2019-20 without aid – $24,500
  • Estimated price with average grant – $9,000
  • Percentage of students who receive grants – 81 percent
  • Graduation rate – 57 percent
  • Average student debt – $15,380
  • Early career earnings – $45,200

To make the initial cut for the listing of Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value, a college had to:

  • Have at least 500 students,
  • Have sufficient, reliable data to be analyzed,
  • Not be in financial distress, and
  • Have a graduation rate at or above the median for its institutional category (public, private or historically black college or university) or have a high “value-added” graduation rate.

A total of 739 colleges met those requirements and then Money focused on three basic factors that surveys show are the most important to parents and students – Quality of Education (30 percent), Affordability (40 percent) and Outcomes (30 percent).

Sources for the information are the U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, PayScale.com, and  Money/American Institutes for Research calculations.

To learn more about Money magazine’s rankings, visit The Best Colleges in America, Ranked by Value. For a full description of the methodology see How MONEY Ranked the 2020 Best Colleges.

Visit Money magazine’s CSUSB webpage to see the university’s breakdown.