I won’t chime in on the ranking, but I this statement made me laugh…
Are you talking about the general population? I think you give them too much credit…I’d say most haven’t heard of any of the Claremont schools. I have 2 kids at the 5 C’s and more often than not, I get blank stares…
(Oh, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard any Californian say “Cali”)
UCSB has been ranked higher than UCSD on a number of recent rankings, though UCSD is still probably better for some majors like some aspects of biology. I think that within the UCs, the top ones should be:
UCB
UCLA
UCSB / UCSD
Based on the undergrad research available, I think Caltech should be higher than Mudd et al.
Maybe:
Deep Springs is cool, but I only listed places both males and females can attend.
Agree with ClaremontMom about the icky “Cali” thing! That’s for non-natives.
@ClaremontMom, when we are talking about universities, I could only imagine well educated folks / or people who are going thru the college selection process…I don’t think you would discuss such topic with a cashier at a local taco shop…no disrespect here, but just making a point…
and about the Cali thing… well…now you heard it… 
It was mostly a light-hearted statement…but I’ll agree that if you limit it to that population (especially those in the process), the number of people who have heard of the 5 C’s increases. But I would still get plenty of blank stares—and I only live an hour away from the colleges.
@Ynotgo …lol… are you calling me a non-native? 3rd generation Californian here from LA…never had a problem of using it…apparently there are people who are too sensitive…
LOL! I just googled “do californians call california cali”
Looks like you are in a minority @CollegeSpec !
@Ynotgo,
the “only” legit ranking you can come up that UCSB is ranked higher than UCSD would be us news national ranking, period. (no one understands WHY…LOL)… (not even US news Global ranking) You should check http://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/freshman/profiles/
And decide which one is better…we are talking about quite large differences between the undergraduate students’ quality. UCSB is solid with UCD, period…
Undergraduate: Rank UCB (we don’t call it “UCB”…Cal or Berkeley…please) above Mudd, Pomona, CMC is questionable…again, check the facts…
And ranking UCSB above USC…that’s another question…
Ranking UCD same as UCI, another question
Ranking USC same as CP, another question…
I don’t subscribe to any single ranking system, per se – they all have warts.
Berkeley is much better rounded than Caltech: as great as Caltech is in STEM, that’s all they’re great in. Berkeley is world-class in nearly every subject, or at least a multitude of them.
USC is now in the top 25, if I’m not mistaken, in the USNews National U ranking. You might summarily dismiss that ranking, but I do not. Some of the variables they use are valid.
Thank you for your thoughts, but I like my top eight. The last eight I mentioned are likely fairly close in quality, so it might have been better to just rank them as a group, 8-16. (by “quality” I mean overall undergraduate academic strength)
@prezbucky, Berkeley is strong in many departments, it is true… However, when people apply for Caltech undergraduate, should I say they are most likely applying for STEM majors? If that’s the case, would you agree, they would use Berkeley as a solid runner up? Rather than the other way around?
Would you dismiss the US News Global ranking? since you mentioned about National ranking, where is USC in Global ranking?
Scripps ranked same as UCI? that’s quite a stretch…
Which one is better? Berkeley or Cornell for business?
@yoyohi, you should start a separate thread for that.
“Top” could mean where you’d most like to go, which school gives the biggest “wow!” when someone tells you they went there, or the ones that stand out to you in a stack of resumes. My selection is probably a blend of at least all 3.
Stanford, Cal Tech, Cal, UCLA
Cal Poly, Harvey Mudd, UCD, UCI, UCSB, UCSD, USC
Re: Cali. I moved to CA in my 20s nearly 30 years ago. I have heard very few Californians use Cali and I never say it myself (at this point, I feel like a native). However, my California-born and -raised Millenial children inform me that Cali is commonly used by their peers. I guess this is one example of culture being imported to rather than exported from California.
Cali and Frisco grate on my ears
@CollegeSpec
Sure, there’s no doubt that Caltech attracts some of the top STEM minds in the world. If I wanted to study Theoretical Physics, for instance, I’d either want to be at Caltech or Princeton probably. Putting Caltech next to Berkeley in my ranking is no knock on Caltech, or at least it’s not intended as one.
The Global ranking appears to be quite a different ranking, a different methodology.I think it focuses more on research output and global brand than the standard USNews college ranking does. And that’s fine – but we’re talking about undergrad, not grad programs. I do think there is some “quality bleed” from grad down to the undergrad level: if the grad program is highly ranked, chances are the undergrad equivalent is at least pretty decent as well. I’m just not sure how much research output affects the quality of undergrad education at a particular school.
As for Scripps vs. UCI, they’re totally different – one is a top-40 LAC catering only to women while UCI is a high-quality public school. Broadly, yes, I would rank them about the same for undergrad quality, each with pros and cons with respect to the other – mostly predictable “LAC vs. public U” pros and cons.
You guys were not fair to UCLA position either!
Agreed. Like dragging fingernails across a chalkboard.
This year it was easier to get into UCB then into UCLA. So don’t discount UCLA. Not because it is better academically, but because the admission to UCLA is is completely unpredictable.
I don’t think ranking colleges without major makes much sense.
@Ballerina016 Wait isn’t UCB’s acceptance rate lower than UCLA’s?