UCLA loses its title as the nation's best public school after 8 years

"Amid threats of million-dollar budget cuts from the Donald Trump administration, UCLA lost its spot as the best public university in the nation after eight years on a popular rankings list. In the annual list published Tuesday by U.S. News & World Report, UC Berkeley snatched the title as the country's best public university, surpassing UCLA, which came in second."

"In the overall list of public and private universities, which includes more than 1,700 schools, UC Berkeley ranked 15th, and UCLA ranked 17th. And according to the University of California, this is the sixth year in a row that each of the university system's nine undergraduate campuses has placed in the overall top 100. Many Ivy League schools still occupied the top positions in the overall rankings, including Princeton University (No. 1), Harvard University (No. 3) and Yale University (tied for No. 4)."

"The U.S. News rankings come as UCLA and UC Berkeley have battled for the No. 1 slot on the lists of various publications, such as Niche, the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, often rotating the top slot. The struggle for supremacy in the university rankings has even sparked online jabs between UCLA and UC Berkeley. Earlier this year, UCLA indirectly dissed UC Berkeley in a Facebook post, writing "still #1," in response to a global rankings list dominated by UC Berkeley."

UC Berkeley claimed the No. 1 public university spot in U.S. News & World Report's annual rankings, with UCLA placing second after an eight-year run at the top amid threats of million-dollar federal budget cuts. The University of Michigan remained third, the University of Virginia and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill tied for fourth, and UC San Diego ranked sixth. UC Berkeley ranked 15th overall and UCLA 17th among more than 1,700 schools, while each of the University of California's nine undergraduate campuses placed in the overall top 100 for the sixth consecutive year. Rankings factors include graduation rates, retention, social mobility, peer assessments and test scores.

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