Date: August 14, 2006
Contact: Lauren Bartlett (
lbartlett@support.ucla.edu )
Phone: 310-206-1458
UCLA Is Named to the 'New Ivies' List by Kaplan/Newsweek
UCLA has been named to Kaplan and Newsweek's elite "New Ivies" list, published in the 2007 Kaplan/Newsweek "How to Get into College Guide."
This year's guide introduces for the first time the "New Ivies" — colleges whose first-rate academic programs, combined with a population boom in top students, have fueled their rise in stature and favor among the nation's top students, administrators and faculty, edging them into competitive status with Ivy League schools. UCLA was one of 25 schools selected by the magazine and test preparation service, which based their picks on admissions statistics and interviews with administrators, students, faculty and alumni. UCLA was the only public university in California selected. The 264-page Kaplan/Newsweek guide will be available in bookstores Aug. 21.
"UCLA has always been an outstanding school, but in recent years it has clearly become one of the most sought-after schools in the country; just last year alone, the number of applicants jumped by 12 percent," said Annette Riffle, contributing editor for the 2007 guide. "UCLA has been able to appeal to a growing number of the nation's top students because of its commitment to academic excellence, range of program options, variety of campus activities and desirable location, and the Kaplan/Newsweek guide is pleased to recognize this accomplishment."
In 2006, UCLA received a record 47,307 applications from prospective freshmen, a 12 percent increase over the previous year. Of those, 12,221 were admitted. Location, moderate cost for California residents and a broad variety of course choices are the draw, said Vu Tran, UCLA's director of Undergraduate Admissions and Relations with Schools. Another draw for prospective students is that the campus guarantees housing for three years and is building more residence halls with the goal of providing housing for four years.
California's largest university, UCLA enrolls approximately 38,000 students per year and offers degrees from the UCLA College of Letters and Science and 11 professional schools in dozens of varied disciplines. UCLA consistently ranks among the top five universities and colleges nationwide in total research-and-development spending, receiving more than $820 million a year in competitively awarded federal and state grants and contracts. For every $1 state taxpayers invest in UCLA, the university generates almost $9 in economic activity, resulting in an annual $6 billion economic impact on the Greater Los Angeles region. The university's health care network treats 450,000 patients per year. UCLA employs more than 27,000 faculty and staff, has more than 350,000 living alumni and has been home to five Nobel Prize recipients.