<p>vicissitudes, im not sure where u got those average sat's for uiuc, ucsd,ucla, and berkeley. but here are the official freshmen admit profiles for ucsd, ucla and uc berkeley. remember uc's use single sitting method to compute sat scores which deflates numbers.</p>
<p>Also check, but i believe uc berkeley, ucla, and ucsd have 99% of their entering freshmen class in the top 10% of high school class.
Last year, the official sat scores were out of 1600, and average admit into ucsd was a 1307, ucla was around a 1340, and berkeley was around a 1350 (all single sitting).</p>
<p>"While 35 of approximately 100 graduate departments at University of California-Berkeley rank in the National Research Councils Top 10, UVA scored only five out of 50, a measly 10 percentfar lower than fellow state schools UC-San Diego, Michigan and Wisconsin."</p>
<p>I agree that UVa graduate school needs improvement. Nevertheless, we have top departments such as law, business, religious studies, English, medicine, some foreign languages, history, etc etc.</p>
<p>But our undergraduate education is very excellent--and this is all you guys need to worry about at this stage. (I assume most of the people on this forum are high schoolers)</p>
<p>BTW, sb9687, feel free to ask questions on the University of Virginia sub-forum under "CC Top Universities". We wahoos love to help out transfers and high schoolers. Which field are you interested in?</p>
<p>UCChris, all state universities (including Michigan, UIUC, UVA and Wisconsin) use the "single sitting method" to compute SAT averages, which really hurts them in the rankings. Also, the UCs use a weighed GPA system, which explains why the mean GPA of incoming students exceeds 4.0. Their average unweighed GPA is actually somewhere in the 3.6-3.8 range.</p>
<p>I am not sure why (I am pretty sure it is a limitation that comes with being state-funded), but it really hurts state universities in the rankings. At the moment, Cal, Michigan and UVA have mean SAT scores in the 1370-1380 range. If they reported averages as private universities do, all three schools would have mean SAT scores over 1400.</p>
<p>I personally wouldn't want to go to any of the schools you have listed. Rankings don't mean anything to me. I either don't like their locations or have been to them and didn't like the campus.</p>
<p>"I am not sure why (I am pretty sure it is a limitation that comes with being state-funded), but it really hurts state universities in the rankings. At the moment, Cal, Michigan and UVA have mean SAT scores in the 1370-1380 range. If they reported averages as private universities do, all three schools would have mean SAT scores over 1400."</p>
<p>we should make private schools use single sitting test scores as well. How can we compare schools if they are measured differently?</p>
<p>I would give the academic edge to Michigan over UVA. I've spent significant amounts of time on both campuses (lived in both states), and I think the student body at Michigan is both more spirited and more intellectual. The art scene at Michigan is 100,000 times better than UVA, and the team spirit at Michigan is literally the best in the world. </p>
<p>With that said, I'll be applying to 3 of these schools in the fall: William and Mary, UVA, and Michigan.</p>
<p>Untilted, I am not sure universities can be "made" to do anything. However, the rankings that use SATs as a measure of academics quality should at least attempt to come up with a fair conversion to make selectivity an apple vs apple comparision. I realize that the 40 point (estimated) edge the method of reporting SAT scores used by private institutions is insignificant, but to high school students, it seems to matter.</p>
<p>"I think the student body at Michigan is both more spirited and more intellectual. "</p>
<p>It's a lot easier to find intellectuals when you have twice the amount of students.</p>
<p>UVa is a great school to attend if you are old money or have old money values, not so great if you are a hippie. Michigan definitely has an edge if engineering is your focus. However, I think it's more about fit and the vibes. </p>
<p>ReninDetroit: are you a michigan or virginia resident?</p>
<p>"I am not sure why (I am pretty sure it is a limitation that comes with being state-funded), but it really hurts state universities in the rankings. At the moment, Cal, Michigan and UVA have mean SAT scores in the 1370-1380 range. If they reported averages as private universities do, all three schools would have mean SAT scores over 1400."</p>
<p>Outside of CC, most high school students only take the SAT or ACT once.</p>
<p>Alexandre, what do you think could happen to make the situation better? Wtih whom can we speak to make the reporting more accurate? At least to add giant asterisks, if nothing else.</p>
<p>Untilted, Michigan and UVa have similar student bodies in terms of socioeconomic background, with both schools having roughly 60% of their students coming from households with 6 figure+ incomes. Old money and old money values are very prominent at both schools, and nothing to brag about if you ask me.</p>
<p>Drab, I think it is the responsibility of the SAT board and the ranking authorities to work together to ensure that an accurate reporting and conversion of SAT averages takes place.</p>
<p>"Old money and old money values are very prominent at both schools, and nothing to brag about if you ask me."</p>
<p>I always got the vibe that Michigan is very liberal and social-economically heterogeneous from my friends who attend there (they told me the greek scene wasnt that big on campus). Guess I was wrong. Thanks for pointing that out. I never bragged about attending school with old money value, I was trying to point that out so prospective students know what the vibe is. (at the time when I had misconception about Michigan).</p>