UC Merced is now the 10th best [USNWR National] Univ in California

Colleges & Universities University of California - Merced
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As per latest US News ranking UC Merced is now #10 in California .

https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/ca?_sort=rank&_sortDirection=asc&_mode=table

  1. Stanford
  2. Caltech
  3. UCLA
  4. CAL
  5. USC
  6. UC San Diego
  7. UC Davis
  8. UC Irvine
  9. UC Santa Barbara
  10. UC Merced
  11. Santa Clara University
  12. UC Riverside
  13. Pepperdine
  14. Santa Cruz
  15. Loyola Marymount
  16. CSU Long Beach
  17. SDSU
  18. Univ of San Diego
  19. Univ of San Francisco
  20. Chapman Univ
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The #10 National University in CA.

Notable omissions, which are Regional universities, Cal SLO, Cal Poly Pomona and SJSU.

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I wonder why CSULB and SDSU were included but not the ones you mentioned? Surely SLO would be ranked higher? Maybe because itā€™s a poly tech, but that doesnā€™t explain SJSU which I think would be higher than CSULB

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Cal Poly for sure will come above UCM. I have no idea why they do not get included

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Iā€™m glad for UC Merced - I hope that campus starts getting more love.

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I thought Cal Poly SLO was not included in lists like this because it does not have doctoral degree programs. But then I looked at SJSU and it has doctoral degree programsā€¦ so I am not sure what criteria they use.

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US News treats what they perceive as ā€œRegionalā€ universities differently, which is a real shame. Thereā€™s honestly no difference for most of them.

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I have kids at Caltech and Xal Poly and I can tell you both are amazing schools. Cal poly is the best school for academics AND affordability.
Iā€™m surprised itā€™s not on this list. It is probably just behind the top 3 UCs.

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It is not obvious why some CSUs are considered by USNWR as ā€œNational Universitiesā€ and some are not. Those which are include CSULB, SDSU, CSU Fullerton, CSUSB, CSU Fresno, SFSU, CSUEB.

USNWR lists the following as ā€œRegional Colleges/Universities Westā€: CPSLO, CSU Maritime Academy, CPP, SJSU, CSUMB, CSULA, CSUN, CSUC, CSUCI, CSUSM, SSU, CSU Sacramento, CSUB, CP Humboldt, CSUDH.

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Wall Street Journal has it as #18 on their **THE 2025 BEST COLLEGES IN AMERICAā€

If you donā€™t have a subscription to WSJ, yahoo posted it as well here:

Thoughts?

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Here are the most important criteria used in The Wall Street Journal college rankings.

Student Outcomes (70%)
Salary Impact 33% Measures how much a college boosts graduatesā€™ salaries beyond expected levels.
Years to Pay Off Net Price 17% Combines average net price with value added to graduatesā€™ median salary to estimate how long it takes to pay off education costs.
Graduation Rate Impact 20% Assesses the collegeā€™s success in graduating students compared to expectations based on student demographics.