<p>UCLA</p>
<p>beautiful campus and surrounding...</p>
<p>cant argue with that.</p>
<p>I did not go to USC, but I went to Milton Academy in Mass. (Stanford undergrad) and I can assure you that among the prep schools in New England, the order would be:</p>
<p>USC;
UCLA (though there are too many Californians and virtually no out-of-staters);
Miami (great private but not quite on par with the above); and
UCSB (probably will surpass UCLA in a few years).</p>
<p>USC was ranked 27th in the latest USN&WR, while UCLA fell out of the top 25, and has so off and on. USC clearly is on the rise, while UCLA is stagnant.</p>
<p>Moreover, with over 45 percent from out of state, USC is more geographically diverse. I have five friends from MA and Phillips Academy who went to USC OVER Stanford and absolutely loved it. While at The Farm, I also noticed a growing respect for USC -- especially among the faculty -- and many of my friends would have gone there had they not gotten into Stanford.</p>
<p>Also, USC likely will surpass UCLA in the rankings in the next year or two.</p>
<p>Be smart about your decision in the long run.</p>
<p>UCSB
USC/UCLA
Miami</p>
<p>I don't know why Miami is even on the list. Anyways UCSB is on serious rise and they have more Nobel Laureates than UCLA (3), USC (1), and Miami (0) combined. That plus the beach makes it top choice for both geeks and party goers.</p>
<p>Pure academic ranking (in Engineering) :</p>
<p>USC
UCLA/UCSB
.
.
Miami</p>
<p>USC
UCSB
Miami
fUCLA</p>
<ol>
<li>ucla</li>
<li>usc</li>
<li>miami</li>
<li>ucsb</li>
</ol>
<p>USC
Miami
UCSB
UCLA..(who needs the anonymity, where you're truly just a #)</p>
<p>
[quote]
UCSB (probably will surpass UCLA in a few years).</p>
<p>USC was ranked 27th in the latest USN&WR, while UCLA fell out of the top 25, and has so off and on. USC clearly is on the rise, while UCLA is stagnant.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>Clearly some anti-UCLA undertones when all the OP was asking for was a list. Have anything substantive to back these opinions up? I'm especially curious about your rationale about UCSB surpassing UCLA...</p>
<p>UCLA is far larger than UCSB (twice as many or even three times as many students, can anyone confirm?). UCSB has no med /business/law schools so if you are asking for "overall ranking" UCSB is behind UCLA.</p>
<p>But UCSB's physical science departments are on par with UCLA in terms of prestige. Same goes for engineering: EE/Material E/ChemE etc</p>
<p>For my son a couple of years ago it came down to USC, UCLA and USC as his dream schools. UCSB doesn't have a football team, but it is on the beach. Not "near" the beach. Not "just fifteen minutes from" the beach. On the beach. As in, walk out of your dorm and two minutes later you're standing in the Pacific Ocean. </p>
<p>That's pretty hard to beat. Oh, yeah, Nobel laureates and stuff, too....</p>
<p>UCLA or UMiami for undergrad because they are in large cities and in safe neighborhoods, Westwood Village and Coral Gables. (UMiami if majoring in undergraduate business and you want to learn more about Business for a knowledgeable career-oriented major, UCLA only has Business Economics which is good preparation to immediately enter a graduate program upon graduation)</p>
<p>UCLA or USC for my part-time MBA, national prestige and great alumni networks! It would come down to price and proximity to work and home. </p>
<p>UCSB has Isla Vista and the beach next to campus. Santa Barbara is a small, safe town with an active downtown of many bars. UCSB only offers a Business Econ major like UCLA.</p>
<p>UCLA is the best academically, but it depends on your plans after graduation and where you feel most comfortable.</p>
<p>Check out the stats for each at College Navigator:</p>
<p>College</a> Navigator - Compare Institutions</p>
<p>You can usually make a clear distinction with key numbers such as percent admitted, and 25-75% SAT's.</p>
<p>SAT Critical Reading UCLA UCSB UM USC
25th Percentile ..... 570.. 520.. 580.. 620
75th Percentile...... 680.. 640.. 680.. 720</p>
<p>SAT Math............ UCLA UCSB .. UM ... USC
25th Percentile....610... 530... 600... 650
75th Percentile.... 720... 650 ...690... 740</p>
<p>SAT Writing........ UCLA UCSB .. UM ... USC
25th Percentile.... 580... 520... 560... 640
75th Percentile.... 690... 640... 650... 720</p>
<p>JW - all UCs take single sitting SAT scores vs. SUPERscoring done at all privates. Add 10-20 points per section of the test score published by UC to equalize for the superscoring bump in scores.</p>
<p>USC has higher testing students on ave. than UCLA even with this normalizing. That doesn't necessarily mean what it seems to... UCLA has a large percentage of students from financially strapped families that do not afford the test prep services that most students who from families that can afford private colleges utilize.</p>
<p>I'd go with USC or UM, but I'm OOS. Do you like South Florida or Southern California better? But SC is a little bit better of a school overall, but UM is no pushover.</p>
<p>
[quote]
UCLA has a large percentage of students from financially strapped families that do not afford the test prep...
[/quote]
</p>
<p>I don't buy the penurious Bruin excuse for a minute. There probably is scant difference in family income between USC and UCLA, income and SAT test prep likely correlates poorly, test prep and SAT score is likewise a weak effect. A more legitimate excuse is that UCLA pays relatively more attention to grades and class rank than SAT, and this as a substitute for AA from which they are barred. The SAT 25-75% is the most telling indicator of college selectivity and thus desirability. Take it at face value unless there is compelling reason otherwise. Excuses for low SAT's are like crappy residence halls, every college has got one.</p>
<p>Another telling indicator is percent admitted and yield. Here USC and UCLA vie fiercely, UM lags and UCSB isn't in the game.</p>
<p>........................................................ UCLA... UCSB .. UM ... USC
Percent admitted.................................... 26%... 53% ...38%... 25%
Percent admitted who enrolled................... 39%.. 19%.... 26% ...35%</p>
<p>USC freshmen's average SAT scores are much higher than UCLA. About 40-50 % of UCLA's students are Asians.</p>
<p>Whenever people talk about a UC, beside SB, someone always brings up "OMG ASIANS!?!?!!!</p>
<p>Personally, I'd go:</p>
<ol>
<li>University of Miami</li>
<li>USC</li>
<li>UCLA</li>
<li>UC-SB</li>
</ol>
<p>I'm biased because I finished college already, and if I had to choose again I would focus more on social factors. A school with a good reputation is a school with a good reputation. University of Miami has a gorgeous campus, a great football team (I missed out on D-I sports when I was in college) with school spirit, it's warm all-year-round.</p>
<p>UCLA and USC were almost tied for me. USC for the football and a lot of the same qualities as Miami, and UCLA of course because of the reputation of the school. In the end, USC won out because of the geographic diversity of the students, plus I checked out some of the majors at the school and they have a lot of really interesting ones (it is a lot harder to design an independent major than people think it is).</p>
<p>I don't know much about UCSB.</p>
<p>JW Muller -- there's a pretty strong negative correlation between income and SAT scores -- lower-income students on average have lower scores than their higher-income peers. And income and test prep are negatively correlated as well -- students from lower-income families can rarely afford the SAT prep classes, which usually start around $800 (for an 8-week class at a center) and top out around $2300 (16 weeks of private tutoring in your home).</p>
<p>I'd also say that UCLA probably has more low-income students, since they are a public college and are far cheaper for California residents than USC.</p>
<p>Last year I received financial aid offers from UCLA, UCB, and UCLA. USC's was more affordable by $4,000-$5,000 than either of the UCs. I am a California resident with in-state tuition.</p>
<p>There was a similar thread last spring, and there was a study posted that showed UCLA students' family income was higher than USC's. I will try to find it.</p>