Both Cal and UCLA also got caught in the admissions scandal. And UCLA has another scandal involving their campus medical personnel. However, I doubt any of these scandals or rankings data errors will have much, if any, effect on either school’s ranking or reputation. They’re both world class uni’s.
Re: data - I wonder if US News occasionally audits info, just to try and keep schools honest.
Full disclosure: I will have one child attending UCB in the fall and one at UCLA. UCB is a much tougher sell than UCLA is. This goes for parents as well as students. We visited every one of the top UCs in the state and my kids wouldn’t even consider UCB until after the 3rd visit when they had more personal exchanges with school personnel.
At the UC open house at UCR, all the admissions chiefs got up on stage to sell their respective schools. They were very positive and energetic, with the notable exception of the Berkeley officer. He seemed almost sullen compared to his “competitors” and was almost apologetic in answering questions about housing.
UCB has a tremendous asset in their great history of academic excellence, and that’s the way I sold it to my kids. But truly, I don’t see any other big guns in their arsenal. When you compare it to UCLA with its spotless campus, smiling faces, great dining options, far better housing stock, and great academics, UCB is the less attractive package. I would go further to say that UCI and UCD also present themselves as better packages than UCB does, as long as your choice isn’t centered solely on academic reputation.
I think UCB is quite conscious of how they stack up against other UCs. After my UCB campus tour, there was a question on the survey relating to how I felt about the school before the tour and how I felt after. To me this signals that they know what their challenges are. It’s just a question of whether they will rise to the occasion and up their game.
Opinion piece in the Daily Cal https://www.dailycal.org/2019/08/01/loss-of-ranking-impacts-campus-pride-reputation
Annecdote/data point of one. I am a UCB Law School grad, and loved the time I was there. While there always was an element of grunge around campus, Telegraph Ave, People’s Park, the Polka Dot Man on Sproul Plaza, the energy was great and the grunge was part of the charm. I took S to visit a bunch of Cali schools a couple of years back. The vibe at UCB was not good. Low energy, not many smiling/happy faces, facilities showing their age. UCLA the complete opposite. After the trip, UCB came off S’s list and UCLA stayed on.
@BKSquared anecdotal/data point of three. Both my spouse and I are Cal grads and we had a very similar experience with both of our children. I posted about our experiences up thread and was told I was off topic.
I’m dating myself, and this IS off topic, but you remember Polka Dot Man and I remember Rick Starr singing Frank Sinatra. I graduated just before Naked Guy.
My son graduated from Haas School of Business and my daughter is currently a junior at UCLA. As far as geographical preference, my son wanted to try a different environment at Berkeley while my daughter preferred the LA vibe. Both are great schools.
“Look, this is the third year in a row UCLA has had a lower admit rate than Berkeley.”
Ok but looking at just the admit rate can be misleading, I mentioned this in another thread as well on UCLA having the most apps. Since the UCs have a common app and you can just check the box to add any of them, UCLA gets, I’m going to posit, a lot more “let’s check the box and see what happens” applications than Berkeley, since it’s perceived as easier to get into than Berkeley. Now that could change since the UCLA admit rates are now lower. I’m not a UCB or UCLA grad though I know a whole lot of them 