UCI receives 5-star rating from Money

Irvine, Calif., June 22, 2023 — For its 2023-24 Best Colleges in America list, Money has again ranked UCI near the very top. Instead of numbering universities, the magazine has assigned UCI a five-star rating, the highest possible for the online survey.

UCI is one of 34 universities to receive a five-star rating.

UCI was lauded for offering a high-quality education, for its affordability and for its student outcomes. The campus particularly rated highly for its graduation rate of Pell Grant recipients. In 2023, 3,636 federal Pell Grant recipients earned bachelor’s degrees. Overall, 46 percent of graduates were first-generation students.

Money ratings start with five stars and go down in half-point increments until 2.5 stars. The magazine’seditors say that while the underlying methodology is similar to that of previous years, the new rating system can help families with college searches by showing the variety and diversity of high-value colleges in the U.S.

Anteater students benefit from the high value of a UCI education. Forbes has ranked UCI No. 1 in the country among public universities for “best value.” And U.S. News & World Report currently rates it the eighth-best public university in America. In 2018, Money named UCI No. 3 among the “best colleges in the U.S.” And in the 2019 Wall Street Journal/Times Higher Education rankings of the nation’s universities, UCI placed first for offering an inclusive, supportive learning environment.