University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
UCLA Ranked No. 1 According to Kaplan Survey
July 28, 2002 | Bruin Athletics
July 28, 2002
UCLA was recently ranked the No.1 overall college in the nation according to data taken from the 678 page "The Unofficial, Unbiased Insider's Guide to the 320 Most Interesting Colleges" published by Kaplan in July.
UCLA was also the only institution among the 320 colleges to be ranked in the top 15 of the six major categories that were surveyed by Kaplan. Those categories were: Best Academic Facilities; Best Freshman Housing; Hot & Trendy Campus; Best Career Services; Highest Academic Standards and Best Value.
UCLA was one of only five schools to be ranked in all six categories. Besides being the only school with all six rankings in the top 15, UCLA had four rankings in the top ten. This included #1 overall in Best Academic Facilities and #2 overall in Best Freshman Housing.
Athletics was not a factor in the Kaplan Survey of the most interesting colleges.
| Overall Rank | School Name | Best Academic Facilities | Best Freshman Housing | Hot and Trendy | Best Career Services | Highest Academic Standards | Best Value | *Total |
| 1 | UCLA | 1 | 2 | 5 | 9 | 11 | 13 | 41 |
| 2 | Stanford | 2 | 3 | 12 | 11 | 2 | 34 | 64 |
| 3 | Texas A&M | 3 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 17 | 36 | 66 |
| 4 | Texas | 4 | 7 | 14 | 7 | 16 | 31 | 79 |
| 5 | Penn State | 9 | 5 | 28 | 5 | 36 | 3 | 86 |
* The total is based on national ranking in six main categories used for comparison in the survery of 320 colleges.
Kaplan Category Leaders: Best Academic Facilities: UCLA Best Freshman Housing: Texas A&M Hot & Trendy Campus: Harvard Best Career Services: Northeastern Highest Academic Standards: Harvard Best Value: ArizonaSurvey Category Definitions
1. Best Academic Facilities- Based on computer centers, science labs and library access.
2. Best Freshman Housing - Room availability and accommodations
3. Hot & Trendy Campus - Most popular for high school elite to attend based upon reputation, location and social scene.
4. Best Career Services - Career Center size, internships, co-op program
5. Highest Academic Standards - Where Straight A students want to attend
6. Best Value - Quality of Education vs. Cost of institution and living expenses
Data taken from, "The Unofficial, unbiased insider's guide to the 320 Most Interesting colleges." Trent Anderson and Seppy Basili, Simon and Schuster, 2003 edition
