if I need to get a top 75 list of colleges that are good for a given major (like Psych), what is the most reliable way to get it ? niche, or Edurank or US news ? or etc ?
I have used USNWR and Niche in the past, though their results and methodologies differ greatly. A couple months ago I was having trouble with USNWR’s search engine. When I searched by ranking for major or department, it flashed the results, then the list disappeareed. Today, it is working fine.
Google tends to work well as a search engine.
Given that ranking is somewhat subjective, Google would be the means by which most “other” people would check so you may as well defer to the consensus approach.
You can be an undergrad psychology major at a ton of colleges…actually, probably most.
What exactly is it you are looking for?
2 Likes
Just trying to check how to get a starting list of good colleges for Psychology. From there, we can resaarch various factors like cost, location, etc to narrow down. Wondering how to start that first list. thanks
My suggestion is that you start with your state flagship university. I say this because to work in the field of psychology, your student will need some kind of advanced degree…at least a masters.
4 Likes
2 Likes
with any ranking you use spend a few minutes looking at how they built their list. Then ask yourself why you think their methodology accurately separates the wheat from the chaff.
2 Likes
You mean like in-state Universities or State Universities ? I am from CA. So yeah thats the first preference.
There are MANY UCs and Cal states that offer a major in psychology. I would suggest starting there.
Maybe @Gumbymom can give you some idea.
The other thing you need to consider up front is your student’s stats and where they can realistically be accepted. For example, both UCLA and CAL are extremely difficult admits.
@aunt_bea might also be able to give some advice.
yep agree. Unweighted GPA is around 3.7. (UC GPA will be around 3.9/4+ due to several college level courses) Strong extra circulars, and SAT isnt required for UC and CA State.
First preference is in a good UC, next strong CA state. In parallel exploring out of state options too.
Top Psychology programs in California:
UC Berkeley
UCLA
Stanford
USC
UC San Diego
UC Davis
UC Irvine
UC Santa Barbara
UC Santa Cruz
UC Riverside
San Diego State
Cal Poly SLO
CSU Long Beach
Psychology admit rates as of 2023:
UC Berkeley: 4.4% UC Capped GPA 4.15-4.29
UC Davis: 37.9% for College of L&S UC Capped GPA 4.03-4.27
UC Irvine: 17.9% UC Capped GPA 4.07-4.28
UCLA: 11% for College of L&S UC Capped GPA 4.20-4.31
UC Merced: 89% UC Capped GPA 3.48-4.08
UC Riverside: 63.5% UC Capped GPA 3.76-4.18
UC San Diego: No data but estimated <25% UC Capped GPA 4.11-4.29
UC Santa Barbara: 32% For College of L&S UC Capped GPA 4.13-4.29
UC Santa Cruz: 57% UC Capped GPA 3.86-4.22
Cal Poly SLO: 6% Mid 50% GPA 4.00-4.25 for College Liberal Arts
CSU Long Beach: 36% Avg GPA 4.01 for Psychology
San Diego State: 28% Avg GPA 4.04 Overall
San Jose State: 61% 3.2 CSU GPA need to meet Impaction Threshold
No Data for USC or Stanford.
5 Likes
Thanks for the great info. Are these gpa ranges overall for the college or specific to psychology major program ?
I would personally use a different strategy as likely 80% of all schools probably work for psych.
I’d start with what interests you in a school - from size (small, mid, large), environment (city, suburbs, rural), sports, greek life and more.
Then I’d talk to your family about budget. How much can then spend ? More importantly, how much are they willing to spend.
Then provide your GPA, # and type of APs, a test score if one exists.
And ask for matches to your profile and desires.
Depending on your overall post grad goals, where you go for psych likely doesn’t matter.
Now some will have certain academic focuses that others don’t and once you have a list you might then dig into curriculums.
But I would find the right school. You might change majors eventually but if not, psych is a major that will be solid most anywhere.
As a California resident, in addition to your robust college system, you also have access to discounted college at schools across the west through the Western Undergraduate Exchange.
I just saw you have a 3.7 but are TO. Many but not all OOS publics are possible. Some would likely require a higher GPA. Others require a test score.
But it will run the gamut of different sizes and environments. And yes costs. UCs and CSUs come in many sizes and environments - just make sure to find that one that is right for you. And plenty of others, both OOS and private will work too.
Good luck
3 Likes
Only CSULB and SJSU GPA’s are specific for the Psychology major. The rest of the GPA ranges are for the overall UC/CSU campuses.
Also, most CSUs are not impacted, and do not have psychology as an impacted major, so they should admit frosh applicants meeting baseline CSU admission requirements (a-g course work complete, 2.5 weighted-capped GPA for California residents).
Most prospective college students’ choices are limited by cost constraints. So have a talk with your parents about what they are willing to pay, and run (or have them run) the net price calculator on each college of interest.
Perhaps @fd97616 can clarify, but I believe this is a parent posting based on this from one of their other threads:
I want to have this understanding so we can effectively narrow down college lists for my daughter. thanks
As there are often issues with various rankings, I often like to see data on the undergraduate institution of people who went on to earn a doctorate in a field. That helps give me a sense of which departments are well-respected by grad schools in the field and that are preparing their undergrads effectively so that they can successfully complete a doctoral program.
One can dig through various data resources from the feds, but I usually find it easier to look at this resource. It only goes through doctoral degrees received in 2018, but you can narrow down by years, subject, classification of colleges, states, etc, to see how the schools perform. Additionally, when looking at the data it is often good to take a look at the size of the school in relation to the number of doctoral recipients.
For instance, here is a list of the number of people from California undergraduate institutions who went on to earn a doctorate in psychology between 2000-2018:
U. of Southern California produced 205 alums who earned a psychology doctorate while Pomona produced 110. But USC has about 21k undergrads while Pomona only has around 1800. So USC has about 11x more students than Pomona, but only a little less than 2x as many alums with doctorates. So I wouldn’t necessarily view the number of doctorates as a rating, but as an information point. I’ve also been known to create a chart like this for schools of interest:
This ratio is not a be all, end all, but it is an information point that I find helpful.
1 Like
It seems 6 CSUs are impacted for the full campus/all programs and a few more for psychology majors specifically. This link may be helpful to the OP:
1 Like
I’m assuming in no particular order, correct?
For OP, rankings are VERY challenging. Their methodology has to align with what matters to you. No matter what your student is hunting for, it’s very unlikely that you’ll find a methodology in strong alignment with what they are seeking.
For me, I’d like a ranking that included class sizes, who teaches them, outcomes and price. Alas, no such ranking exists, yet those are the factors that are important to nearly everyone.