University of California campus rankings, US News 2022 edition... (Los Angeles, San Francisco: 2014, credit)

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by amokk

You clearly have no clue what you're talking about and just like running your mouth. Maybe that works when you're trying to sell homes to dumbass rubes over in Riverside, but I've got an IQ above room temp. So not going to happen.

You CAN'T predict the future. Time will tell...

[Glenview94602]

Originally Posted by waltchan

US News & Report UC undergraduate ranking history (in-order):

1992:

1. Berkeley
2. Los Angeles
3. San Diego
4. Irvine
5. Davis
6. Santa Barbara
7. Santa Cruz
8. Riverside

About 20 years ago when I was applying to universities, this was the UC ranking by US News & Report at that time (in-order):

2002:

1. Berkeley
2. Los Angeles
3. San Diego
4. Santa Barbara
5. Irvine
6. Davis
7. Santa Cruz
8. Riverside
9. Merced

2012:

1. Los Angeles
2. Berkeley
3. San Diego
4. Santa Barbara
5. Irvine
6. Davis
7. Santa Cruz
8. Riverside
9. Merced

2022 (today):

1. Los Angeles
2. Berkeley
3. Santa Barbara
4. San Diego
5. Irvine
6. Davis
7. Riverside
8. Merced
9. Santa Cruz

Only UC campuses with unchanged ranking after 20 years are Irvine and Davis. All others have flipped, gained, or lost.

2032 (forecast):

1. Los Angeles
2. Berkeley
3. Santa Barbara
4. Irvine
5. San Diego
6. Davis
7. Merced
8. Riverside
9. Santa Cruz

2042 (forecast):

1. Los Angeles
2. Santa Barbara
3. Berkeley
4. Irvine
5. San Diego
6. Merced
7. Riverside
8. Davis
9. Santa Cruz

By 2042, I think UC Santa Barbara will dethrone UC Berkeley as the new #2 best UC campus. Santa Barbara is currently the fastest-growing ranking UC campus, since 1990, when it once peaked with a 85% acceptance rate in 1993, and it was ranked below Irvine too. Not anymore today...

By 2042, I think UC Davis will move down 2 places and become the 2nd worst UC campus, because the UC regents want to invest more in UC Merced for first-time generation Hispanic students, eliminate poverty, and the land location is centrally better than UC Davis where it is at. Merced is closer to Yosemite National Park. Merced will also have a high-speed rail train stop, while Davis won't get one. It's also much easier to build new buildings in Merced than in Davis.

Bottom line, southern California UC campuses will continue to see upsides, while northern California UC campuses will be seeing downgrades. This is due to birth rate difference. San Francisco city has a very-low birth rate. Riverside/San Bernardino will continue to have a modest birth rate.

1. UC Merced could not have been ranked in 2002 as they opened their doors in 2005.
2. I may be a homer and a proud Alum but UC Davis is the UC for Sacramento and to a lesser extent the exurbs of the Bay Area (Solano/parts of Napa). Davis is a great place to live with highly ranked schools as well.
3. As someone from Oakland/Berkeley who didn't attend or apply to Cal (but practically lived in downtown Berkeley all the time and spent nearly every Saturday at California Memorial Stadium), it is kind of shocking to see UCLA more popular than Berkeley. Berkeley is my hometown and birth city so I am passionate about this too. I understand the population base of southern CA, but it is UC Berkeley that is the true flagship of the state and one of the greatest schools in the world. I am shocked UCLA is more popular in applications. The culture there seems superficial.
4. I say this all the time, but my dad attended UCSC in the 70's and got into several other UCs though I don't know which ones. He studied environmental science (maybe?) and has had some really great jobs in Biotech in the Bay over his career. All UCs are good and UCSC was also recently named an AAU school. Grad school is important too and some places don't care about Undergrad place of study.

Lastly: Fight for California!!!!

[Valley Boy]

At the end of the day, California is getting a good deal with the UC system. When your lowest rated UC is ranked 46 out of over 1600 public schools, that is pretty amazing. The top 6 UC's are top 10.

UC Santa Cruz is not bad, it ranks up there with University of Arizona or University of Illinois Chicago. It's a solid second tier school, IMO.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by Glenview94602

3. As someone from Oakland/Berkeley who didn't attend or apply to Cal (but practically lived in downtown Berkeley all the time and spent nearly every Saturday at California Memorial Stadium), it is kind of shocking to see UCLA more popular than Berkeley. Berkeley is my hometown and birth city so I am passionate about this too. I understand the population base of southern CA, but it is UC Berkeley that is the true flagship of the state and one of the greatest schools in the world. I am shocked UCLA is more popular in applications. The culture there seems superficial.

Honestly? The current culture in Berkeley is so leftist it's completely off the rails. Even my teen/20s kids and their friends who are at university right now haven't been interested in going there.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by saibot

I don’t want to put “too much” importance on locals, but locals are important—particularly for those UC schools in densely populated areas. My daughter is at UCI and turned down acceptances to UCLA and UCSD because so much money could be saved by staying local. And, of course, UCI has a great program in her major, though if everything were equal she would chosen UCLA.

She did her first two years at a local community college and knows a number of classmates who also transferred to UCI. When money is a big factor, why go farther and have to take out loans.

Yeah, that's a good point when you consider housing cost. That definitely keeps people closer to home. I don't know how much the Bay Area as a whole is growing. San Francisco proper is just one small sliver of the entire region. It's certainly possible that students would live at home in distant suburbs and commute into Berkeley.

[Valley Boy]

Originally Posted by saibot

Honestly? The current culture in Berkeley is so leftist it's completely off the rails. Even my teen/20s kids and their friends who are at university right now haven't been interested in going there.

I think you are mistaking the city of Berkeley with University officials. Cal is a fairly tame and studious campus. It's pretty much mostly nerds there. It's just that the legacy from the 1960's attracts a lot of nutbags to the city itself. And inevitably many of those nuts who are not students, wander onto campus anyways. You can tell who the students are. They are heavily white/Asian, and look like total suburbanites with no street smarts...but a ton of book smarts.

As for UCLA... Northern Californians have always turned their nose at LA. So it doesn't surprise me UCLA has crept up on them. LA has made all sorts of headway, in many respects, over the last 10 years. It doesn't surprise me that UCLA and USC have risen in prominence in that regard.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by Valley Boy

I think you are mistaking the city of Berkeley with University officials. Cal is a fairly tame and studious campus. It's pretty much mostly nerds there. It's just that the legacy from the 1960's attracts a lot of nutbags to the city itself. And inevitably many of those nuts who are not students, wander onto campus anyways. You can tell who the students are. They are heavily white/Asian, and look like total suburbanites with no street smarts...but a ton of book smarts.

Yeah, I don't think UCLA overtaking Berkeley in the US News rankings has anything to do with Berkeley's "leftist" image. If that were the case, that would've happened back in the 60s, when it was much more activist than today.

I think it has more to do with the LA metro having around 50% of the total CA population and some students gravitating closer to home. Either way, the differences are negligible. Both are excellent schools (along with some of the other UC's) and should provide similar opportunities for grad school, career, etc.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Yeah, that's a good point when you consider housing cost. That definitely keeps people closer to home. I don't know how much the Bay Area as a whole is growing. San Francisco proper is just one small sliver of the entire region. It's certainly possible that students would live at home in distant suburbs and commute into Berkeley.

That's where UC Riverside excels easily. So many cheap homes around, including Moreno Valley. Some people say it's time that Riverside should not be a middle-class city anymore.

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

I think it has more to do with the LA metro having around 50% of the total CA population and some students gravitating closer to home. Either way, the differences are negligible. Both are excellent schools (along with some of the other UC's) and should provide similar opportunities for grad school, career, etc.

That's correct. Population density is higher in southern California than in northern California. I've noticed lack of "wows" lately coming from UC Berkeley, UC Davis, and UC Santa Cruz campuses. They are expected to be downgraded by US News & Report in future rankings.

I think UC Santa Barbara will dethrone UC Berkeley as the new #2 best UC campus, after #1 UC Los Angeles, sooner than later. Time will tell... (all forecast only)

[waltchan]

There's plenty of land space left in UC Riverside for future new campus housing:

https://www.pe.com/2021/09/21/uc-riv...fety-measures/

See the main photo... I don't see "dummy" students anymore, far different than in 2002 when I checked in for orientation.

(One example I still remember today is former Hispanic gang students with tattoo on body checking into dorm orientation. I spoke with 2 students that came from east LA, while I was lining up to get my keys. I don't think they had over 3.00 HS GPA.)