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Woochifer
Joined: 12/15/11 Posts: 9,132
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Posted Sat, Apr 01 7:38 pm
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In response to OT #5 In fulfilling/crushing dreams (reggbruin13)
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It wasn't that long ago that UCLA's yield rate was closer to 40% (i.e., percentage of students accepted who enroll). But, that number has had a marked increase over the past decade. 56% is exceptionally high (for reference, Stanford's yield rate is 70% and Cal's is 51%), and as a result UCLA's acceptance rate is now down to 7%. UCLA used to send out 11k acceptance letters. They now send out 8k.
UCLA has always ranked high on Princeton Review's dream schools lists. No surprise, given that UCLA has been a consensus top 3 public university (along with Cal and Michigan), and led the nation in applicants for over 3 decades.
But, the big sea change occurred when UCLA passed Cal as the #1 public university back in 2017 on the US News national universities ranking (the US News rankings are bogus for many reasons, but they're not the only ranking where UCLA now ranks above Cal). As much as I cringe at UCLA using the US News ranking for marketing, the fact of the matter is that it works.
I've been an outreach volunteer for over 20 years, and one of the main goals with the admissions staff for many years was to elevate UCLA's stature to equal Cal. For decades, when students were deciding between UCLA and Cal, about 60% of them chose Cal. UCLA was inching closer and closer for years, but once UCLA passed Cal on the US News ranking, Cal lost their long-standing marketing pitch -- #1 public university in the world. Because UCLA had already passed Cal on a couple of the frequently cited academic rankings (keep in mind that the US News ranking is not an academic ranking, because its criteria are largely weighted by non-academic criteria that inherently favor private schools), there was no longer a consensus #1 public university. And as a result, more students are now choosing UCLA over Cal.
Don't get caught up in these kinds of lists. UCLA is a very desirable destination, and that's reflected in the survey. But, there are a lot of great options out there, and private schools in particular are plowing a lot of money into financial aid because the college age population has been in decline for nearly a decade. It's more of a buyer's market right now if you're willing to expand your choices. The UC remains the preeminent public university system, but it's not necessarily the best fit for everyone. Deciding on colleges is a process. Don't short-circuit that process before it even begins. |
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