The Wall Street Journal has released its list of the Best Colleges in the U.S., and Fresno Pacific University has landed in the top ten among private universities in California for Best Value.
FPU is number six in the state of California for private universities in the Best Value category, and number 49 for private universities in the nation. This makes FPU the number one university among the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities (CCCU) in this category.
“These rankings affirm our commitment to making Christ-centered higher education both excellent and accessible,” said FPU President André Stephens, Ph.D. “Affordability opens doors for more students to experience the transformational learning and community that define Fresno Pacific.”
When combining private and public universities, FPU is ranked number 171 overall out of 584 schools rated nationally, 84 schools more than The Journal ranked in 2024. Fresno Pacific is number 23 for Social Mobility (making it the number one private university in the Western United States), number 123 for Student Experience, number 165 for Best Value and number 264 for Best Salaries.
Last year, FPU ranked number 141 nationally overall out of 500 schools, number 14 for Social Mobility, number 72 in Student Experience and number 55 for Best Salaries.
The Journal determines a Best Value school using what it calls “Years to pay off net price.” According to its website, “Best Value ranking lists schools in order of how quickly the difference between their graduates’ salaries and those of comparable high-school graduates pays back the average net price of four years of study.”
The full top ten list of private universities in the Best Value category in California is:
- Stanford University
- California Institute of Technology
- Harvey Mudd College
- Claremont McKenna College
- Pomona College
- Fresno Pacific University
- University of the Pacific
- University of Southern California
- University of the Redlands
- Azusa Pacific University