<p>^ The answer gets back to the OP’s question. UC’s provide a high national ranking/perceived prestige with a RELATIVELY low hurdle (SAT score average) compared to other schools with similar ranking. So Johnny has a much higher chance of being accepted to UCLA/Berkeley than to a similarly ranked private national university. I don’t know of other state flagships with the prestige factor of UC’s top two (e.g. 22 Nobel laureates at Berkeley)</p>