UCLA, UC Berkeley tie for top spot in public school rankings
UCLA earned a tie with UC Berkeley for the number-one spot in the Top Public Schools in the 2024 U.S. News and World Report Best Colleges in America list, it was reported Sunday.
UCLA and UC Berkeley also tied for No. 15 in the overall ranking of universities in the nation.
Among the factors considered in the survey were academic reputation, cost of attendance and return on investment. The rankings also reflect faculty research as well as opportunities for undergraduates to participate in research.
"The success that UCLA achieves in these and other rankings is reflective of the hard work, dedication, resilience and ingenuity of the people who make up the Bruin community," said UCLA Chancellor Gene Block. "UCLA is the best public university in the nation because of the contributions of our staff, faculty, students, alumni and friends."
The magazine noted UCLA had a total undergraduate enrollment of 32,423 in the fall of 2022, and its in-state tuition and fees were $13,752; out-of- state tuition and fees are $46,326.
UC Berkeley's enrollment was comparable at 32,831 in the fall of 2022, with in-state tuition and fees at $15,91 and out-of-state tuition and fees at $48,465.
Caltech ranked No. 7 overall with 982 undergraduate students enrolled in the fall of 2022 and tuition and fees at a lofty $63,255.
Princeton University was the highest ranked university nationally. It had 5,604 undergraduates enrolled in the fall of 2022 and tuition and fees of $59,710.
UCLA issued a statement saying that its ranking was bolstered by a number of key factors, including high marks for social mobility "a measurement of the achievement of students from challenging economic backgrounds" and a revised methodology that emphasizes success in graduating students from different backgrounds. Nearly a third of the Westwood university's students are first-generation college students, a third are community college transfers and more than a quarter come from families considered to be extremely low income.
