UCLA, which earned the No. 1 spot last year, was bumped down to the second-best public university in the nation, just behind the University of Michigan, in Niche's 2026 Best Colleges in America rankings, published Monday. ( Niche considers factors such as student reviews, academics, professors, the campus, diversity, safety and student life.) The only other California school that cracked the top 10 on the list of best public universities was UC Berkeley at No. 9.