@preppedparent Supposedly, student selectivity only accounts for 12.5% of what is factored into a school’s ranking, according to US News’ own ranking methodology. However, since we are talking about very similar schools, small changes in selectivity could have an impact in rankings since a lot of top schools are often neck and neck in undergraduate categories. And slight changes in one area can shift the rankings.
The latest ranking that puts UCLA and Berkeley at a tie is partially based on the class of 2020’s admit statistics. In the 2020 class, Berkeley was stronger in admit profile and acceptance rate. But, UCLA was still placed at #1 with Cal when the rankings came out a few days ago. That means that UCLA did well enough in the other criteria to warrant a promotion in ranking. The other factors that are taken into account include:
Financial resources
Graduation rate performance
Alumni giving rate
Faculty resources
Graduation and retention rates
Undergraduate academic reputation
(I must note that these are not all weighted equally.)
Since UCLA performed strongly in the above categories, despite being slightly “easier” to get into than Berkeley, it was ranked #1 along with Cal. UCLA did well enough to move up 3 spots from the previous year. And Cal was demoted by 1 spot, leaving them at a tie for #1 public school.
So, a year from now, the rankings will reflect the statistics of the class who just began school this Fall: the class of 2021. And since the 2021 class is UCLA’s strongest and most selective class ever (in terms of GPA, SAT/ACT scores, applications received, and acceptance rate) you might see UCLA take sole possession of the top spot and Berkeley slip a place since their acceptance rate went up and their admit profile down. This could be enough to give UCLA sole possession of the top spot assuming they remain strong in the other criteria.
To add to this, Berkeley is dealing with financial problems. They have a big budget deficit that is taking its toll on the school. This is like affecting financial resources and faculty resources: two of the major factors that go into the ranking. In addition, there’s the “Undergraduate academic reputation” factor where US News surveys thousands of school presidents, provosts, deans of admissions, and high school counselors on “intangibles” regarding various schools. Their input has impact on the rankings, and if these folks have been exposed to the mountain of bad press Berkeley’s received the past 2 years, it could’ve possibly had an effect on how they reviewed the school. But this last point is just me speculating.