By Matthew Criswell

Fresno State ranked 18th out of 40 in a recent NerdScholar ranking of the best “bang for your buck” universities in California

The average income for someone between the ages of 25 and 34 with a high school diploma is about $30,000, and the average income for someone with a college degree is about $45,000.

NerdScholar argues that the amount of money spent to attend a four-year university is worth it in the end, so it wanted to find out which colleges in California provide the best education for the respective amount of money.

NerdScholar looked at the top 40 colleges in California based on the Forbes ranking of America’s Top Colleges. It then tried to answer a few questions about each school to try to rank them in the best possible way.

The questions were:

1. Is the college generally affordable and does it offer aid?

Included in this was the average net price, or the price after grants and scholarships.

2. How does the college appear to the public eye?

This took into account the prestige and quality of the school according to the Forbes ranking.

3. Do students graduate within six years?

Six years is the average time it takes students to graduate.

4. Do students pay back their loans on time?

This added in the loan default rates.

After all of these questions were analyzed and added together, Fresno State ended up ranked as the 18th “best bang for your buck school” in California.

“The fact that we made the list is remarkable because, on that list, we are competing primarily with the UC system. ­Seven of the top 10 are UC schools with two being privates. ­The standards for entrance at a UC are significantly higher than at CSU, Fresno,” said Bernard Ogden, financial aid director.

Fresno State had the lowest net price out of all the schools, which was $5,805, but had the second largest loan default rate at 7.9 percent.

“Our default rate is higher because our population demographic is mostly urban and low-income,” Ogden said. “The sophistication with financial matters is not significant.”

The graduation rate at Fresno State was the third lowest out of all the colleges in the ranking at 49.4 percent, coming in ahead San Jose State and CSU San Bernardino, which has a graduation rate of 44.6 percent.

While these statistics are lower than other schools on the list, many students at Fresno State feel like they are getting a quality education because of all the resources available.

“I feel like we have a lot to offer: things like the writing center, the library and things like that. I have a friend at USC, and he probably has more resources, but I feel like I get a quality education here,” Fresno State sophomore Alyssa Chavez said.

According to many students, the professors at Fresno State have a lot to offer and are very educated in their respective fields.

“There are many professors here who do a really good job and give me a quality education,” Fresno State student Luz Rosales said.

“We have a great student life here. We get the best of both worlds: a big beautiful campus in a small town. I don’t feel like Fresno State gets enough credit,” Fresno State student Myles Alonzo said.