"Best Colleges" ranking: Several California universities ranked near the top
SACRAMENTO - California is known for having some of the most highly ranked universities in the world, and a revamped ranking of the "best colleges" for 2024 backs that up.
The state appeared twice in the top 10 spots for "Best National Universities" in the analysis by U.S. News & World Report. Stanford was third (tied with Harvard) and California Institute of Technology took seventh.
UC Berkeley (15), UCLA (15), UC Davis (28 - tie), UC San Diego (28 - tie), USC (28 - tie), UC Irvine (33), UC Santa Barbara (35), Santa Clara University (60), UC Merced (60), UC Riverside (76), UC Santa Cruz (82), Loyola Marymount University (93), and University of San Diego (98) finished in the top 100 of the national university rankings.
UC Berkeley was also named the top public university in the country. UCLA came in second.
Pomona College (4), was named one of the top five best liberal arts colleges in the country.
The magazine says this year's list "placed a greater emphasis on social mobility and outcomes for graduating college students, demonstrating the most significant methodological change in the rankings' history."
The rankings no longer take into account class size, faculty with terminal degrees, alumni giving, high school class standing, and whether graduates borrow federal loans. Instead, a large portion of a school's rank looks at "success in enrolling and graduating students from all backgrounds with manageable debt and post-graduate success."
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