U.C. Berkeley Tops Forbes’ U.S. College Rankings

BERKELEY, CA — UC Berkeley has consistently ranked at or near the top of most national rankings of public colleges.

Last week, it took the top spot in one of the nation’s most respected polls.

Forbes ranked Cal the nation’s No. 1 college in a poll that included academic institutions that charge nearly triple in annual tuition.

UC Berkeley was among six UC campuses ranked among the top 50. UCLA (8th), UC San Diego (15th), UC Davis (20th), UC Santa Barbara (39th) and UC Irvine (47th) were the others.

Cal’s $19,126 annual tuition for in-state residents represents is a steal compared to some of the nation’s most prestigious private universities.

Yale and Princeton, which ranked second and third, charge $55,827 and $52,188, respectively. Stanford, which polled fourth, charges $54,808.

A new methodology in Forbes’ rankings that gives weight to low-income student outcomes and adds a federal database of graduate earnings helped vault Cal and the other UC schools atop the rankings.

The new approach figured prominently in Harvard plummeting from the top spot in the most recent rankings in 2019 to No. 7 this year. Forbes did not issue rankings last year amid the pandemic.

Pell grants, which are awarded to economically disadvantaged students, went to 27 percent of UC Berkeley undergraduates, compared to 12 percent for Harvard.

“A key part of our mission is providing a world-class education to a broad cross-section of exceptional students and transforming lives,” UC Berkeley spokesperson Janet Gilmore said in a statement.

“It is gratifying to see our important work recognized in the methodology used by Forbes and hopefully more institutions.”