<p>Berkeley 2, UCLA 1? bold statement.</p>
<p>That's not as bold as UCR 8 and UCSC 9. Obviously people shouldn't drink before trying to rank UC's.</p>
<p>909</p>
<p>I know that Caltech is an amazings school, and for certain people its probably considered the best school in the world, but before I got into really looking at colleges I had absolutely no idea caltech was so good (or that it even existed). A school like MIT, for whatever reason, is known everywhere, but Caltech is not, so I would say its prestige is pretty low (again, outside of those in the know). Same for Pomona.</p>
<p>My rankings are either off and/or biased. So no commentaries, please.
BTW, I don't even know if UCSC is better than UCR.</p>
<p>[ol]
[<em>]UCB
[</em>]UCLA
[<em>]USC
[</em>]UCSD
[<em>]UCD
[</em>]UCI
[<em>]UCSB
[</em>]UCSC
[<em>]UCR
[</em>]UCM
[/ol]</p>
<p>merced is a 100% last place...
and whats the point of this thread? u go where u will learn and be happy, not get a stamp on ur head saying PRESTIGE METER = x</p>
<p>
[quote]
I know that Caltech is an amazings school, and for certain people its probably considered the best school in the world, but before I got into really looking at colleges I had absolutely no idea caltech was so good (or that it even existed). A school like MIT, for whatever reason, is known everywhere, but Caltech is not, so I would say its prestige is pretty low (again, outside of those in the know). Same for Pomona.
[/quote]
What you said about prestige is sort of true. In my rural home school, when I requested transcripts, my guidance counselor in a voice of ignorance asked me, "You want to go all the way to California??" I guess the average person has not heard of it.</p>
<p>However as far as international prestige goes, in China and other Asian countries, Caltech is very well recognized.</p>
<p>
[quote]
merced is a 100% last place...
and whats the point of this thread? u go where u will learn and be happy, not get a stamp on ur head saying PRESTIGE METER = x
[/quote]
</p>
<p>i don't live in cali and i wanted to know what people thought of each schools (because i have NO idea for the most part except berkeley, UCLA, and USC) i don't want to goto a place where everybody thinks it's ghetto.. so. ^_^</p>
<p>Public UCLA Private Stanford/ Pomona
CAL USC
UCD<br>
UCSD</p>
<p>Why would you want to be in California? It's one of the most demoralizing, depressing, and superficial places to be... I hate it here.</p>
<p>This is how they are regarded --
- Stanford
- Caltech
- Berkeley</p>
<ul>
<li>UCLA</li>
<li>Harvey Mudd</li>
<li>USC</li>
<li>Claremont McKenna</li>
<li><p>Pomona</p></li>
<li><p>UCSD</p></li>
<li><p>UC Davis, UC Irvine</p></li>
<li><p>UC Santa Barbara</p></li>
<li><p>UC Santa Cruz</p></li>
<li><p>UC Riverside (It is better than most would imagine for certain academic fields)</p></li>
<li><p>UC Merced (might as well go to community college)</p></li>
</ul>
<p>
[quote]
Why would you want to be in California? It's one of the most demoralizing, depressing, and superficial places to be... I hate it here.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Yea, I don't understand why so many people have this sensationalized image of California, they look at it like it's 'the holy land'. I used to live in southern california (redondo beach) and to be honest, it wasn't that great.</p>
<p>I live in SoCal, and have visited the Redondo Beach port/pier whatever you want to call it. The parking lot's horrible. And plus, there's a door that says "Closed due to Extreme Vandalism"</p>
<p>I think the people here have never matured intellectually or emotionally. I imagine if you've only visited a couple of times, you would think that the people are so friendly and laid-back. But they are extremely lonely... There's such a lack of human contact. People never get close, they never truly care about each other. I really don't like the mentality here. The only place I can stand is San Francisco (where I live) and even then... They are so liberal. It's too much -- you can't advocate tolerance, and then be intolerant toward anyone who is intolerant!</p>
<p>When I go to the East Coast or the Europe, my faith in humanity is restored.</p>
<p>you make me go to the east coast or europe. </p>
<p>in my city, the majority are white people and they have this inner-hatred. i just can feel it. it's easy to notice. there was this asian mom in a toyota siena that was dropping off his son to a store, but she didn't notice she was blocking an old white man's ford explorer. She was there like for 10 seconds. And This guy got so man and started honking like hell. then the mom slightly started to leave and this man, like crazy, started to scream " Damn it, get the **** out of the way!!!!!!!" everyone heard. this is just one thing. </p>
<p>and i agree with Jack with "there's such a lack of human contact." with my neighbors, I try to become close enough and become good friends. All they say when I see them is a rough and empty "Hi." Ugh... California.. </p>
<p>I would love living in Zurich or in Tuscany, Italy.</p>
<p>I'm originally from the midwest and have lived in CA for 8 years. It has its problems, but I love it. No big complaints, and certainly not any that would lead me to tell other people to stay out. Man. This is especially of absolutely minimal concern if you're coming to a residential school where you'll pretty much be living in a campus bubble, especially if it's a non-UC with lots of out-of-state students. I'm in a part of CA right now that I don't have any desire to stick around in after graduation, but my campus is beautiful and I never have any real need to trudge around town, so it doesn't matter.</p>
<p>Be careful not to mix up prestige, quality, and simply "well-knowness". Also, academic prestige and general prestige are very different things. Furthermore, if you just want to know how people perceive the schools, prestige is not necessarily the best indicator of that.</p>
<p>-- The Claremont schools are WONDERFUL. I can't say enough good things. Within the academic community and with those who've heard of them, they (for simplicity, I'm just referring to the Consortium rather than each individual school) hold a LOT OF WEIGHT. Then again, not that many people have heard of us.</p>
<p>-- No UC is looked at as "ghetto". Period. Merced is the least prestigious because it's brand new. Regardless of ANYTHING else, this is the biggest reason (for now...no idea what's to come).</p>
<p>-- In my experience, I echo a previous poster...CalTech is not as well known as some people think. It's not on par--name-value wise--with MIT or even the top UCs (to name only examples that have arisen in this topic). However, obviously those who are already familiar with it have a profound respect, and that includes anyone in a relevant position of hiring or admitting.</p>
<p>-- Note that the UCs have much higher admission standards for out-of-state students. Also note that prestige may vary based on program. UCI has one of the top 5 dance schools in the country, for example. The prestige of a program is important, as well (and by prestige here, I more closely mean quality).</p>
<p>-- I go to a teeny tiny, largely unknown, residential college. We have a good relationship with the community, we assume that we'll find good employment, and we get over the fact that nobody's heard of us. It's just not that big of a deal. Visit schools in which you have true interest...this alone will give you a fair idea of how people see the schools. If you think they're gross, superficial, ugly, substandard, fine...then assume that other people might, too, or that even if they don't, you probably shouldn't go there! And if you think it's great, then assume you won't care what other people think. Ultimately, if you like a school, you won't care what other people say, and if you don't, then all the prestige and recognition in the world will not take you very far.</p>
<p>-- Also note that there are MANY, MANY schools in CA besides those you have listed...even many good schools.</p>
<ol>
<li>UCLA</li>
<li>UCB</li>
<li>Cal Tech</li>
<li>UCSD</li>
<li>USC</li>
<li>UCSB</li>
<li>UCI</li>
<li>Cal Poly SLO</li>
<li>UCSC</li>
<li>SDSU</li>
<li>UCR</li>
<li>UCM</li>
</ol>
<p>There are other good schools such as USD, Pepperdine etc. and I might have left some out, but this is my overall feeling.</p>
<p>Caltech and Stanford are easily the top 2 schools in California for undergraduate studies. If you include graduate work, then Berkeley is just as prestigious.</p>
<p>Prestigious California Schools:
1. Caltech
2. Stanford
3. UC Berkeley
4. UCLA
5. UCSD
6. USC
7. Claremont Schools</p>
<p>Near prestigious California Schools:
8. UCI
9. UCSB
10. UC Davis
11. Cal Poly Slo</p>
<ol>
<li>UCLA</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>UCB</li>
<li>USC</li>
<li>UCSD</li>
<li>UCI</li>
<li>UCD</li>
<li>UCSB</li>
<li>UCSC</li>
<li>UCR</li>
<li>UCM</li>
</ol>
<p>My biased-list.</p>
<p>Notice how I put UCLA above Stanford! :eek:</p>
<p>OK USC is overrated. I would definitely rate it under SD.</p>