Cal Poly Pomona was named to Money Magazine’s 2018 list of “The 50 Best Colleges in the U.S.” for quality and affordability. The university was ranked No. 47, a dramatic rise from its No. 124 position last year.

Contributing to its climb, the magazine profile noted that, “the university’s graduation rate of 69 percent is 26 percent higher than that of schools with comparable student demographics.” In addition, “recent graduates report an average early career income of $54,000, according to MONEY’s calculations, which is higher than peers from similar schools.”

The full “Best Colleges for Your Money 2018” ranking includes 727 colleges with graduation rates “at or above the median for its institutional category (public, private or historically black colleges and universities) or…a graduation rate [that is] unusually high when compared with schools whose students have similar test scores and socioeconomic backgrounds.” Those schools were then ranked based on 26 factors in the three following categories:

Educational quality – Six-year graduation rate (adjusted this year to include transfer students) and number of graduates who received Pell Grants.

Affordability – Net costs after receiving financial aid, time to degree, average student and parent federal loans, and student loan repayment rates.

Alumni outcomes and success – Graduates’ earning data, value-added analysis of the PayScale earnings reports, accounting for the student body socioeconomic background and the mix of majors on campus.

Also making Money Magazine’s “50 Best” list were CSU Long Beach, CSU Dominguez Hills and Stanislaus State.

Cal Poly Pomona’s high-quality education and relatively low tuition have also received recognition from PayScale and the Equality of Opportunity Project.