LA JOLLA, Calif. -- UC San Diego is ranked by Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine in the top 10 among the best values for public colleges and universities in the United States, it was announced Friday.

The school was ranked 10th in value for in-state costs and seventh for expenses for students from out of the state.

The editors said they took into account academic quality, admission rates, student-faculty ratios, graduation rates, costs and availability of financial aid.

UCSD costs $9,367 a year for California residents if they take advantage of financial aid, and $21,913 for out-of-state pupils who get grants, according to the magazine.

Students are saddled with debts of $15,904 upon graduation, which is in the lower third of the 100 schools listed, according to the Kiplinger's report in the magazine's December issue.

Other California schools on the list include UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz and Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was ranked first.