Why do you think SB is one spot above us in this year’s ranking? This stuff is really interesting. At the same time I really think UCSB deserves more positive attention from the public in general.
As an incoming freshman at UCSB, I’ll be the first to admit that I was pretty shocked to see us ranked above UCSD. With that being said, I don’t think these rankings hold too much weight outside of giving people a general idea of how “prestigious” a school is. UCSD will probably return to its rightful position of 3rd highest ranked UC next year and the mid-tier UCs will all probably be battling for the title of 4th best. To answer your question, maybe SB moved up because we gained a new Nobel Laureate last year, or because admission rates fell to ~32% (5% decrease). Those are about the only 2 reasons I can think of.
UCSB got more applications than previously and continued to admit a smaller class, so its acceptance rate went down and its U.S. News ranking went up. Like the poster above said, no big deal and nothing worth worrying about. Congrats to the Gauchos on cracking the list though!
@lojo60 Those are the exact two reasons I could think of as well! And definitely congrats to them.
Admission rate doesn’t count for much in the ranking
The USNews Rankings are oft quoted but are among the least useful. They take things like spending into account. That automatically makes places with a higher cost of living rank higher than other places (all else being equal). I would think San Diego is more expensive…but…I would also think it is easier to get professors who want to live in San Diego versus Santa Barbara. Supply and Demand could mean that the cost of labor is greater in Santa Barbara and thus could account for one place difference.
The whole thing helps explain why the UCs are so heavily represented than they should be.
Santa Barbara is more expensive. You can find cheaper place near UC San Diego but not LaJolla.
Yeah SB is more expensive from what I’ve researched.