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Give the University of Washington a solid “B” as far as “best value in public colleges,” according to just-released rankings by Kiplinger’s Personal Finance magazine.

Out of 100 colleges the publication ranked, for 2012, the UW is rated No. 14 for in-state students, and No. 18 for out-of-state students.

The magazine says it uses a number of factors in determining the rankings, including tuition and financial aid, SAT or ACT scores, admission and retention rates, student-faculty ratios, and four- and six-year graduation rates.

For the UW, Kiplinger’s put the 2011-2012 total cost for in-state students at $21,152, and $38,636 for out-of-state students.

The top-ranked school, as far as value, both for in-state and out-of-state students was the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The UW has slipped in the best-value rankings from previous years. In 2011, for in-state students, it was ranked No. 10; in 2010, No. 7.

Read Kiplinger’s annual best-value college report.