California college ranked No. 1 best public university in the nation — and others make top 10

After years of sitting comfortably atop the rankings of America’s best public universities, University of California, Los Angeles has again been bumped from its throne — but the crown remains in the Golden State.

University of California, Berkeley swooped in for the second year in a row to claim the No. 1 spot, in another blow to UCLA’s long-running dominance, according to U.S. News & World Report.

UCLA came in second after sitting in the top spot from 2018–2025.

It wasn’t the only shake-up for California schools on the list.

UC San Diego and UC Davis also cracked the top 10, landing at No. 6 and No. 10, respectively.

Despite UCLA’s slip, the school’s stats are still impressive.

The college boasts a highly competitive acceptance rate hovering around 9%, meaning fewer than one in 10 applicants get accepted. That’s even better than UC Berkeley’s acceptance rate of 11%.

Nationally, UCLA landed at No. 17 among all universities, tied with Rice University in Houston and Vanderbilt University in Nashville.

Metrics like graduation rates, faculty resources and student outcomes all factor into the final rankings.

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