Washington Monthly Ranks CSUSM 64th in Nation
By Moyosore Ayo-Ogunyemi
Cal State San Marcos ranks 64th in the nation out of more than 1,500 colleges in Washington Monthly’s “2026 Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars,” up from last year’s 73rd ranking.
The rankings focus on college access for less-wealthy students and affordability after financial aid. Using factors such as Pell Grant enrollment and expected access based on admissions, test scores, and family income.
CSUSM is also 23rd out of 215 colleges in the magazine’s “2026 Best Colleges for Your Tuition (and Tax) Dollars: West” and 50th out of 100 colleges in its list of “America’s Best Four-Year Hispanic-Serving Colleges.”
Last month, CSUSM placed 31st in the country in SmartAsset’s 2026 student of America’s Best Value Public Universities.
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