<p>Looking at these rankings, I can't help but feel that both UC Berkeley and UCLA truly belong in the top 20 (among both public and private universities), above many of those private schools. Also, I believe, based on statistical and anecdotal information, that the quality of the undergraduate programs of the above two UC campuses are roughly equal and should thus be ranked #1 public universities. If not this, then at the very least, UCLA should be placed at #2, since it is, I think, academically superior to UVA, Michigan and any other public university with the exception of UC Berkeley. Also, UC San Diego should be ranked at least in the top 30 in the overall rankings.</p>
<p>I'm glad UCLA tied with Michigan...again. Hoping it can keep the momentum to move back to #2 public like it was in 2000. It's good to know that Davis is back to what we could call its "rightful" place, and here's hoping UCSD can finally move up some time in the near future (it's stagnated for quite a while at 38). </p>
<p>In the end, though, rankings are just rankings. If you're happy with your school, that's all that matters. US News has its biases, people should understand those before being totally rankings oriented towards choosing a school.</p>
<p>airportconnectio, your evaluation of colleges based upon sat scores leaves a lot to be desired. Would you chose a car simply on its mpg rating? These college rankings might be useful to start a list of potential schools for someone, but you really should try to visit a school, see how the departments you are interested in are performing, and consider what happens to their graduates when they leave. I suspect that any college could be compared to any other college within twenty places of their rankings in general, and that when you get down to the undergraduate experiences in specific departments the order could shift considerably.</p>
<p>airportconnectio spend a few minutes and educate yourself on what the USNWR rankings are actually based on. Once you have gained some understanding perhaps you will quit posting the same thing over and over again. As for UCD they use a point system for admissions which takes many more qualities about an applicant into consideration besides just SAT scores.</p>