UCLA ranked No. 25 on US News
By Jae Yang
Sept. 7, 2008 10:10 p.m.
UCLA was ranked 25th in the 2009 U.S. News and World Report college rankings released last month.
The ranking is based on a methodology that includes graduation rates, alumni donations and national reputation among others.
UCLA has hovered in the mid-20s in the rankings for about a decade.
In addition, the school placed in the top three of public institutions behind UC Berkeley and the University of Virginia.
First established in 1983, the U.S. News and World Report rankings are not without their detractors in the subjective and competitive world of college rankings.
A 2001 article in the San Francisco Chronicle claimed that the U.S. News methodology favors universities with large endowments and how it parlays the wealth toward a favorable reputation.
UCLA has an approximate endowment of $980 million, according to a 2007 National Association of College and University Business Officers study.
Because of the subjective nature of college rankings, UCLA has found itself up and down various rankings.
The school was ranked as high as second in the Washington Monthly, and was named as one of the “25 New Ivies” in a 2007 Newsweek article.
Other UCs included in the U.S. News list were Berkeley at No. 21, San Diego at No. 35, and
Davis, Irvine and Santa Barbara tied at No. 44. USC was No. 27 on the list.
