UC Berkeley tied with UCLA for #1 public university in the U.S. in the latest USNWR rankings

Colleges & Universities University of California - Berkeley
19

By the academic preparation of their incoming students, as roughly indexed by standardized scoring, UCB appears to remain a highly appealing school to many academically high-achieving applicants:

http://www.businessinsider.com/the-50-smartest-colleges-in-america-2016-10/#43-university-of-southern-california-average-sat-1380-9