<p>Going off of what collegemom16 said, Cal Poly also had an acceptance rate in the 40s, close to UCSD. Does that mean Cal Poly is better than UCD? Not at all.</p>
<p>I'd also say that the UC tiers are:
UCB/UCLA, followed by UCSD, then UCD,UCSB,UCI, etc.</p>
<p>It's true that prestige doesn't really say anything about a school, especially when comparing the top or mid tier UC's. Anyone who attends any of these schools would be successfull, given they put in the effort to work hard. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, thousands or maybe millions of students and parents look at rankings, especially that of US News Weekly. Millions may be a little exagerated but you get my point. When people see these rankings and see UCSD higher than UCD or other mid tier UC's, they immediately assume that indeed UCSD must be better, even though they know nothing about the school. </p>
<p>Also, in response to the Cal poly stuff, I believe Cal Poly's low admit rate is derived from its really strong Engineering program. Many even consider it better than UCSD.</p>
<p>Wow dude, rankings shouldn't be the sole way of determining a school's prestige, especially not just the USNews rankings. There are other ranking systems where UCSD is ranked much closer to Cal/LA than the mid-tier UCs (see my earlier post for an example). Also, UCSD's applicant pool is about Cal/LA quality (I remember someone posting somewhere with the exact statistics). The average GPA/SAT of accepted applicants was also closer to those of Cal/LA than the mid-tiers.</p>
<p>At least where I live, UCSD is considered a top-tier UC and is very well-respected (as are all the UCs), and you'd have to be crazy to group it with the mid-tiers (not saying you are lol).</p>
<p>More people apply to Cal Poly because they only require GPA/SAT scores......more people apply, more people reject thus deflating acceptance rate</p>
<p>UCs looks at GPA/SATs/SATs Subjects/Community Service/3 Essays</p>
<p>I've never heard UCSD considered top tier before... it's the top of mid tier, really.</p>
<p>Also, sort of related, UCB and UCLA are the only ones that don't guarantee you can be admitted from a CC. UCSD does, as do the rest.</p>
<p>^ Actually it was 2 essays for this year, but yeah.</p>
<p>I agree wholeheartedly that a lower acceptance rate doesn't mean that a school is harder to get into. However, this fact would work in UCSD's favor. SD's acceptance rate of 40.2% may seem pretty high when compared to many universities with acceptance rates in the 20-30% range, but its applicant pool is either just as, if not even more qualified. However, if anyone feels like comparing applicant pools, keep in mind that the reason the UCs have lower average SATs than many private schools is because they look at the best test, not the best section from each test.</p>
<p>Back on topic...</p>
<p>Sure, the average number of A-G courses are the same for admitted students at SD and Davis, but that hardly matters when compared to other statistics such as GPA and SAT scores (SD clearly beats Davis in both). If you want to choose Davis over SD because you'd be happier there, that's perfectly fine, but don't kid yourself into thinking that they are equal in terms of prestige. When it comes down to the bare facts (aside from a few outlier statistics like the way-overrated USNews rankings), UCSD is a top-tier UC and I'm willing to argue this point to my grave.</p>
<p>However, I've said this before and I'll say it again: go where you like best. All UCs are elite schools regardless of how they stack up against each other, and it's very normal to pick a "less prestigious" school simply because you like it more. Even though you seem to be leaning towards Davis right now, don't let yourself be swayed by all those negative stereotypes about SD. It's only an antisocial campus if you're antisocial yourself.</p>
<p>EDIT: Yeah, all the admissions officers at my school's college meetings place UCSD at the bottom of the top tier. Some people might consider it mid-tier because it's not as well-known as Cal/LA, although almost everyone I know who got into all three of those schools are making their decisions not just between Cal and LA but between Cal/LA/SD.</p>
<p>^ last I heard Cal and UCLA are the top tier UCs...</p>
<p>SD/I/SB/D are within 10 ranks of each other.</p>
<p>They're within 10 ranks of each other on the USNews rankings. On the ARWU rankings, UCSD is ranked 14th - one space behind UCLA and 11 spaces behind UC Berkeley, but 21 spaces ahead of SB, 29 spaces ahead of Davis, and 31 spaces ahead of Irvine. Washington Monthly ranks UCSD 4th, meaning it's (once again) one space behind UCLA, 2 spaces behind Berkeley this time, 4 spaces ahead of Davis, and the rest of the UCs are left trailing far behind. All rankings are different, meaning that rankings, while giving you a general idea of how good a college is, aren't the best way to determine exactly how good a college is (which is ironically intended to be their purpose).</p>
<p>^ I think your perception of the prestige of UCSD might be regional. I didn't goto Davis or UCSD personally. I did my undergrad at SB and grad at Cal. </p>
<p>To me, it seems like a SoCal versus NorCal kind of thing.</p>
<p>USNews is widely regarded as the most prestigious of all the rankings. ;)</p>
<p>UCSD isn't a top tier school. It's the top of the mid tier.
I guarantee you in India they won't have heard of UCSD, but they will have heard of UCLA and UCB. UCSD and Davis are equal in terms of prestige. Note also that UCSD isn't featured on CC's "Top Universities" page, while Cal and UCLA are. (If UCSD is top-tier too, why isn't it there?)</p>
<p>Indeed, labeling UCSD as a top tier or a mid tier depends in ones opinion and region, but when looking into whether UCSD is more prestigious than UCD, UCSD wins. Yes, prestige may have nothing to do in determining which schools is better, but we can't refute the fact that UCSD is ranked higher/admit rate more competitive/GPA, SAT, SAT2 is higher than that of UCD.</p>
<p>dmission indeed looking at a national perspective no one knows any other UC other than LA and Berkeley, but for those who are looking into the california UC system, they will consider UCSD much more prestigious than UCD.</p>
<p>USNews may be the most well-known, but it's not exactly credible. It's received lots of criticism, partly because of the flawed PA survey which comprises 25% of the rankings. Also, the ranking system it uses clearly favors private schools (although I know we're comparing two public schools). You can't really call any of the rankings credible, but they do help to give you an estimate of where the schools stand. However, I wouldn't consider any one ranking system accurate enough to determine whether UCSD stands closer to Cal/LA or the mid-tiers.</p>
<p>Oh and jmilton, I live in NorCal.</p>
<p>EDIT: UCSD isn't there because (1) it isn't quite as well-known and (2) it's at the bottom of the top tier. It's also one of the newer UCs, and since it rose to the top tier so quickly, it doesn't have as much name recognition as Cal/LA.</p>
<p>Amongst the two UCs, UCSD is ranked higher than Davis, according to most polls. However, they are so close in rankings to the point where they're academically comparable, both in academics and in prestige.</p>
<p>There's a whole other thread about this, and the overwhelming majority classify UCSD as being middle tier.</p>
<p>UCSD's own website refers to UCSD being at the top of the 2nd tier of UCs.</p>
<p>I'd like to add that UCD became a UC school almost at the exact same time UCSD did. (1yr apart)</p>
<p>Relax, no one is criticizing UCSD here, no doubt it's a great school.</p>
<p>I disagree with UCSD being a top-tier. Until UCSD has a sub 30% acceptance rate (they're getting there) like UCLA and UCB, I would say UCSD is a mid-tier. </p>
<p>I think one thing that would boost UCSD's prestige around the nation would be more D-I sports. I believe UCSD is ultimately categorized in D-III athletics. One of the reasons why UCLA and UCB are so popular, in my opinion, are their nationally televised and ranked D-I athletics.</p>
<p>Agreed, marzxbarz, that seems to be a main reason for some of their prestige.</p>
<p>It actually seems like the majority in that thread groups it in the top tier (or at least above the mid tier). People compare UCSD with the mid-tiers just as they do with Cal and LA. Also, could I get a link to the exact page on UCSD's site where you found that information? Even if UCSD does classify itself as a mid-tier, there's no arguing that there are many people who still group it in the top tier. The tiers don't seem to be official, they're more discussed to give people an idea of where each school stands.</p>
<p>It's true that UCSD and UCD were founded at about the same time, but I don't see UCD with any more international recognition than UCSD. Age does seem to matter, which is one of the reasons why Harvard is so well-recognized.</p>
<p>And don't worry, I'm not ****ed or anything, but UCSD being classified as a mid-tier was foreign to me until I came on CC.</p>
<p>EDIT: UCSD is actually Div-II with some Div-I sports. Div-I athletics do bolster name recognition, and while UCSD doesn't have a Div-I football team, there's definitely talk about it. In fact, it actually did have a football team for a year I believe.</p>
<p>Also, I believe there was a discussion earlier about acceptance rates not necessarily saying everything about how hard a school is to get into.</p>
<p>Mid-tiers are often compared with top tiers. Don't worry -- UCSD is still a great school. It's just not considered to be 'top-tier.'</p>
<p>I agree, age can play a big role!</p>
<p>There are those who consider it a top-tier and those who consider it a mid-tier. Like I said, these tiers aren't really official.</p>
<p>And yeah, UC in general is prestigious.</p>
<p>conclusion: Anybody will succeed if they work hard either way (D or SD)</p>
<p>by the way, one question: I heard UC's are created for "SPECIALIZATION" is that true? so for example, Davis is good for Bio, SD is good for BME, Berkeley is for hard core engineering, Santabarbara is for Physics, etc.. thats what I learned in the first place of how UC system was created. is that true?</p>