<p>@RML your intuitions are correct. Berkeley is above stanford and oxford in terms of reputation:</p>
<p>[Top</a> Universities by Reputation 2011](<a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/reputation-rankings.html]Top”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/reputation-rankings.html)</p>
<p>however, in the U.S., i can’t think of anyone who knows Stanford and Berkeley saying that Cal is a better school (maybe comparable for graduate studies but that’s it.)</p>
<p>UCLA isn’t too far off either though (at #12) which out of 100 universities is still fairly impressive. I see UCLA’s prestige increasing every year though, so i doubt that the difference in prestige will continue forever.</p>