BATON ROUGE – LSU was rated as the best value among universities in Louisiana and the highest rated public university in the state.

The university was rated as having the best value for students by SmartAsset, a financial technology company. Additionally, LSU was ranked 65 among Kiplinger's Personal Finance's Top 100 Public Colleges.

Kiplinger looked at competitiveness, graduation rates, academic support, cost and financial aid, student indebtedness and salary yardstick.

Among the state's public universities, LSU has the highest four-year graduation rate and the highest salary yardstick at $45,800. Kiplinger's salary yardstick rating is the median earnings of workers who started college 10 years earlier and who received financial aid.

The ratings can be found here: http://kiplinger.com/links/colleges.

"In today's higher education market, students are looking at value and return on investment more than ever," LSU President F. King Alexander said. "We know the value and importance of an LSU degree, and these ratings further show that LSU provides an exceptional educational opportunity to students in Louisiana."