"The factors employed by Forbes to generate this ranking list capture well the perfect storm that has enveloped the University of California system, " says spokesman Peter King--who's quick to note that this spring the 10 UC campuses received a record 135, 029 applicants.

FORBES: The College Tuition Risk List

It also led the Latin American contingent in another list, this time compiled by Shanghai's Jiao Tong University and released in August, ranking in the cluster between 101st and 150th.

ECONOMIST: Universities in Latin America