<p>I have seen that Berkeley is ranked in #2 in both Computer Science and Mathematics by multiple sources.</p>
<p>Why is it that the selectivity (test scores, ect.) seem to be much lower than other universities of this magnitude?</p>
<p>Can someone clear this up? Or provide a link the the correct data or class profile?</p>
<p>Are those #2 rankings for undergraduate or graduate?</p>
<p>Acceptance data reflects that of the entire university, not single majors.</p>
<p>In addition, applicants don’t directly apply to the computer science or mathematics majors, all L&S students enter as undeclared. Comp sci and math are not capped majors, so there’s no application process for those.</p>
<p>I am talking about undergrad. I found them on USnews and the math one I found elsewhere.</p>
<p>Well is L and S and the CoE harder to get into than the rest of the school?</p>
<p>I am just trying to understand why more people do not apply to Berkeley because of these programs. Where instead I see much more interest in private universities with lower rankings. I feel like I am missing something. Berkeley has better programs AND a higher acceptance rate?</p>
<p>In a way, you just answered your own question. Berkeley has a relatively higher acceptance rate (and thus lower average test scores, etc.) than private schools precisely BECAUSE it is a public university.</p>
<p>And we all know that the mission of a public university is to accept as many applicants as is permitted/encouraged by state and campus policies.</p>
<p>Of course, this has little bearing on the fact that Berkeley’s academic programs are ranked among the best in the world. :)</p>
<p>goalsetter11111:
lol it’s really not right to judge a university because it has a high/low acceptance rate with high/low standardized test scores. (which makes us news college ranking a bit flawed) </p>
<p>Berkeley does accept many students, but let’s just say that the real challenge is surviving at berkeley rather than getting into berkeley. if you’re wondering how berkeley excels in many areas in addition to math/cs, it is mostly because of the ‘filtering’ process that we go through usually in the first two years; only the best ones still keep up with their originally-intended majors. (although i have to say this process of ‘finding what you really wanna do’ is the moment you really grow up)</p>
<p>however, you do bring an excellent point why some people just don’t apply to berkeley even with these excellent programs we have. I guess they don’t bother to research about the programs/majors they wanna do in college but just care about going to a ‘prestigious’ school.</p>
<p>Keep in mind, folks, that the rankings of almost any school in subject area have much to do with the caliber of the faculty in terms of the research they put out. In math and CS, there are quite literally some gods who are unparalleled in their expertise. Selectivity has nothing to do with these guys existing at the school. Most students will never actually benefit from the caliber of their work while they are undergraduates. Therefore, other factors tend to be used in ranking undergraduate programs.</p>
<p>Those rankings, in my humble opinion, mean more to a graduate applicant. However, they do mean that there is an enormous breadth of offerings of courses and research opportunities from faculty of the highest caliber.</p>