For many administrators, the upper echelon of college rankings can appear as nothing more than glitzy showroom setpieces for the Ivy League and other elites. They may be left to wonder why these lists dismiss the vast majority of institutions that routinely support most of today’s college students.
After all, three out of every five bachelor’s degree-seeking students in the U.S. attend a state school, according to Forbes. As a result, the wide-ranging business magazine decided to take a closer look at the nation’s best public colleges.
Eight California colleges made the top 25, six of which are in the University of California system. Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, Georgia and Texas each had two. Every university made it in the top 100 of Forbes’ overall ranking, and all 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico were featured in the top 500.
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The publication used the same methodology in its overall ranking to determine the best public colleges. Among its top metrics are alumni salaries, low student debt levels and return on investment.
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Los Angeles
- University of Florida
- University of California, San Diego
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of California, Santa Barbara
- University of Washington-Seattle campus
- University of Michigan
- University of Virginia
- University of California, Irvine
- University of Maryland
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champign
- University of California, Davis
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- William & Mary (Va.)
- California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
- Purdue University (Ind.)
- Florida State University
- University of Georgia
- Baruch College (N.Y.)
- Texas A&M University-College Station
- North Carolina State University at Raleigh
- San Diego State University
