Which uc has the largest campus

It was rated the 1 greenest school in the nation by Princeton Review in It began as a farm school for UC Berkeley, but now it is a world-renowned college of its own.

It is known for its agriculture and animal science programs. UC Davis has a prominent greek life and lively campus culture, with about 65 sororities and fraternities and over student organizations and clubs.

UC Riverside has the second-highest acceptance rate of the UC school system and comes in 7th place on our list. In , US News named UC Riverside the top school in the nation for advancing social mobility, meaning that UCR enrolls and graduates a large number of low-income students. It has more Pell Grant enrollments than any other college in the country, and more than all of the Ivy League schools combined! UCR prides itself on improving the success of first-generation college students, low-income students, and minority ethnicities.

The University of California Santa Cruz is located in a laid back beach town. Although the school does not have a football team, it does conduct ground-breaking research. The school is known for its incredible space and astronomy programs and has a research partnership with NASA. UCSC is also known for its unique campus life. There are always student-led activities and a lot of parties! It is the most recently established school in the UC system, and the smallest, which is why its academic rankings and student body feedback are less than all of the other schools.

It does, however, still have notable accomplishments. UC Merced is the most environmentally conscious UC school. All of its buildings are LEED certified. It is also known for its high student success rates and for exceeding expected graduation rates. UC Merced is not as established as the other UC schools, but that can be beneficial.

It has the highest acceptance rate of all UC schools, and it can provide smaller classes in a more intimate learning community. It has the resources of a large school in a much smaller setting. The UC system is a series of advanced academic and research-oriented public schools. Now in its 36th year, the rankings assess U. The latest edition evaluated 1, institutions across 17 measures of academic quality.

Measures include retention and graduation rates, social mobility, faculty resources and academic reputation. For the first time this year, it also included graduate indebtedness. Roughly 54 percent of UC undergraduates graduate without any student loan debt, according to the annual UC accountability report.

Data for the rankings was pulled from fall and earlier, so the COVID pandemic did not affect school data submission. While rankings are somewhat subjective, based on reputation and objective statistics, I've sorted the UC schools into four tiers.

They're the most selective and generally the most well-regarded of the UC schools. It would be difficult to definitively rank one ahead of the others. UC Santa Cruz probably has a better reputation and is ranked higher by various publications, but these two schools are pretty comparable in terms of test scores and acceptance rates.

The fourth tier is UC Merced. UC Merced is not necessarily trying to directly compete with the other UC campuses. It's the newest UC campus and has a significantly smaller enrollment than all the others. It also has the highest percentage of underrepresented minorities and low-income students of all of the UCs.

It's heavily invested in providing access to education to students in the San Joaquin Valley of California and offering a UC education to more California residents. I created a table with my rankings of the UC schools. In many respects, there are more similarities between the UC schools than there are differences.

They're all selective, research-oriented schools that share the same governing board. They have diverse student bodies, emphasize sustainability and environmentalism, and they offer many on-campus opportunities for student involvement.

However, I think the primary differences between the schools are related to their locations and campus cultures. I'll give brief descriptions of each school's location and some information about what makes each school unique compared to the other UCs. Also, I have friends and former students who have attended each UC. My assessments are based on my campus visits, information from the school websites, the opinions of friends and former students who attended these schools, and published student reviews.

I tried to include both pros and cons that revealed how students feel about their experience at the school and were representative of many of the comments that I read. As part of my assessments, I used quotes from current and former students for each college from Niche , a website that provides reviews, rankings, and statistics about neighborhoods and schools. Berkeley is a vibrant, unique college town.

It's affectionately known as "Bezerkeley" because of the eclectic students and history of radical political activism in the city.

I've always enjoyed my trips to Berkeley because there seems to be so much going on both on and off campus. At UC Berkeley, in one evening, you can attend a cultural event, join a political rally, go to a frat party, and top the night off with some good, cheap eats at Blondie's or Top Dog. UC Berkeley is the oldest of the UCs and is known for its academically gifted students and renowned faculty.

Also, in , Berkeley started a scholarship fund for undocumented students. In general, students rave about the campus and the school's location close to the Bay Area. It gives them lots of opportunities for social opportunities as well as internships and networking connections.

Students also praise the quality of the classes they take even if they're challenging and the intelligence and motivation of their fellow classmates. Both faculty and fellow students receive high marks for making classes challenging and thought-provoking.

A major drawback that many students mentioned is the prevalence of crime in the area. Robberies and harassment are unfortunately fairly common occurrences. Students also mention lack of diversity as an issue, although the school is working on improving the problem so that students of color always feel they have someone to relate to. As a large public university, Berkeley also doesn't have the ability to routinely keep tabs on all students, and a common refrain was that students at Berkeley need to know how to do things on their own.

As one former student said, "I felt like students were on their own. No one really held your hand through anything. You had to make it all by yourself. However, Westwood has a number of restaurants, bars, and off-campus apartments for students that give it a college town feel within the city. Since , US News has ranked it the top public college in the country. UCLA is a very spirited school. I've been to many basketball and football games at UCLA. Furthermore, the school offers more than 3, courses in academic departments!

Academics get high marks at UCLA. Most students are very happy with their professors and the quality of the classes they're taking and feel they have lots of opportunities for research and internships. Beyond the classroom, students also feel that UCLA provides numerous activities for students to get involved in, and its location in Los Angeles means there are many additional opportunities nearby. As one UCLA student says, "Being in Los Angeles there is everything you need to get a head start on your career with volunteer, student organizations and internships in most fields.

Students also praise the friendliness of their classmates and how easy it is to make friends at UCLA. They feel that the school has a thriving social scene and there are many clubs available to help you make friends that share similar interests. As a bonus, on-campus food is ranked very highly at UCLA; some students even think it's the best college food in the country!

Although UCLA's large size allows it to provide lots of opportunities for students, some feel that attending such a large school has drawbacks because there are a lot of people to compete with, and it can be difficult to find the resources you need.

It can be difficult to get into certain popular classes or get access to guidance counselors because of the large student population. Some students also feel that cost of living is high for UCLA, particularly for on-campus housing. The school is literally steps from the Pacific Ocean, and even though it's an academically rigorous institution, the laid back beach vibe permeates the UCSB culture.

UCSB also has garnered a reputation as a party school, even though not all of the students participate in the party scene. However, UCSB still maintains an excellent academic reputation. The school has a stunning location, and it's not uncommon to find students studying on the beach.

The social scene is very active as well, with both regular parties and lots of clubs and student groups to join so students can have a diverse and active social life. One common drawback of the school, though, is that many classes are quite large, especially intro classes. One student says, "As a chemistry major, the average class size for my major-related classes are easily in the s.

There are some professors that are able to teach us complex topics; however, the general consensus is self-study. And while the campus itself is beautiful, some students find the dorms to be small and dated. Additionally, many of the dorms are triple occupancy, which can make living situations feel cramped and increase the possibility of not getting along with one of your roommates. We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service.

We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League. We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. La Jolla is an extremely nice area and has an average daily temperature of It's home to the Scripps Institute of Oceanography , one of the first centers dedicated to ocean, earth, and atmospheric science research and education.

The school is organized into six residential colleges that help give it a smaller college feel within a large university. Students had many positive things to say about the academics at UCSD, and they particularly praised STEM classes and research being done at the school. It's also top among all UCs in terms of total active inventions and total US patents. Some students complain that UCSD doesn't have much of a party scene, but others praise the alternative ways students can socialize, such as through clubs, campus events, and individual college events.

The general consensus is that, as long as you don't expect your social life to come entirely through parties, there are lots of ways to meet people at UCSD. Another drawback some students mention is the large and sprawling campus.

One student states, "Biggest downside is that the campus is HUGE, getting to back to back classes is difficult. This means you often have to do a lot of walking, and it can make the school feel like less of a community because everything is so spread out. Davis is 11 miles from Sacramento and 70 miles from San Francisco.