Website: http://www.ucsd.edu/

Nestled along the Pacific Ocean on 1,200 acres of coastal woodland, UCSD is a powerful magnet for those seeking a fresh, next-generation approach to education and research. Since its founding over four decades ago, UCSD – one of the ten campuses in the world-renowned University of California system – has rapidly achieved the status as one of the top institutions in the nation for higher education and research. UCSD’s interdisciplinary ethos and tradition of innovation and risk-taking underlie its research strength and ability to recruit top scholars and students.

UCSD received 60,799 freshman applications for fall 2012 admission (the second highest application rate in the University of California system). The average high school GPA of admitted freshmen for fall 2007 was 4.06. Total campus enrollment for fall 2011 was 29,324.
The university offers more than 100 undergraduate majors in six disciplinary areas. UCSD ranks 3rd nationally among major research universities sending students abroad in full-year programs, and 8th among U.S. research institutions in the number of international scholars hosted.

UCSD ranks 7th in the nation in National Academy of Sciences membership. (The top universities, in rank order, are: Harvard, Stanford, UC Berkeley, MIT, Princeton , Caltech, UCSD, Yale, Univ. of Wisconsin-Madison , Univ. of Chicago and Univ. of Washington.). U.S. News and World Report ranks UCSD as 7th best public university in the nation, and 32nd among the nation’s top 50 universities.