UCSB Ranks as One of the Most Economically Diverse Colleges in the USA

The following is a Businessinsider.com article by Abby Jackson, posted September 18, 2015 with the title “New ranking looks at which colleges in America are the most ‘economically diverse’”:

The University of California system is dominating the field when it comes to accepting students from diverse economic backgrounds, according to a ranking by The New York Times. Of the top 10 colleges that are doing the most for low-income students, six belong to the University of California system.

The ranking looks at the percentage of students who receive Pell Grants, federal money that typically goes to families making less than $70,000 a year, according to The Times. To rank the colleges’ efforts to be economically diverse, The Times also looked at the graduation rates for low-income students and the prices that colleges charged for low- and middle-income students. Here were the top schools:

1. University of California-Irvine: 40% of students receive Pell grants
2. University of California-Davis: 31% of students receive Pell grants
3. University of California-Santa Barbara: 31% of students receive Pell grants
4. University of California-San Diego: 28% of students receive Pell grants
5. University of California-Los Angeles: 28% of students receive Pell grants
6. University of Florida: 24% of students receive Pell grants
7. University of California-Berkeley: 23% of students receive Pell grants
8. Vassar: 22% of students receive Pell grants
9. Amherst: 20% of students receive Pell grants
10. Pomona: 18% of students receive Pell grants

The UC system’s commitment to recruiting and accepting a diverse class is even more impressive in light of its strong academic standing in the world. The University of California system proved itself a public-university powerhouse, according to the Center for World University Rankings. Of the top 10 best public universities in the country, the UC system contributed four to the list. America’s top public university on CWUR’s list — the University of California at Berkeley — ranked seventh overall globally.

Editor’s note: UCSB ranked 64th on the CWUR list. For more on The New York Times ranking, see its related article. Many thanks to Geography Professor Susie Cassels for bringing this material to our attention.

Source: UC Center for New Racial Studies – http://www.uccnrs.ucsb.edu/news/

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