University of California (Los Angeles Campus)

University of California at Los Angeles was founded as a public land-grant research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. Some of the interesting facts about the university are given as follows:

• The University was founded in 1919 as a public university with the Chancellor named Gene Block being appointed in the year 2007.
• The UCLA campus location was later moved to Westwood in the year 1929 along with a campus area of 419 acres.
• According to the Fall 2023 data, the student enrollment at UCLA includes 32, 423 undergraduates and 14,007 graduates on campus.
• University of California at Los Angeles has more than 40,000 faculty and staff members.

Both Duke & University of California-Los Angeles are considered part of the best universities in the United States & are also among the more selective institutions in the country. The Duke University acceptance rate stands at around 6.3% while that of UCLA stands at around 9%. It can be noted that both these are institutions are very picky at granting admisisons to students with Duke being marginally more selective as compared to UCLA. 

Despite that, students interested in studies at either institution must perform really well in academics as well as university entrance exams, & must maintain a professional resume that stands out from the rest to have a chance of securing a seat at either institution.

University of California Santa Barbara and University of California Los Angeles are some of the most esteemed universities in USA. Every university offer something unique for its international students. When considering a university, students must check crucial factors about the university. Some crucial factors to check include fees, rankings, average salary location, acceptance rate, scholarships offered, and more. Each students have their own needs and reqiurements when choosing a university. UCSB is loacted in Santa Barbara, California, USA, and UCLA is situtated in Los Angeles, California, USA. Check the comparison listed below between UCSB and UCLA. This will surely assist students in gaining more clarity on these universities respectively:

International students are required to get a student VISA to study at UCLA Los Angeles as this university is situated in the USA. These students are required to visit the US Embassy in New Delhi, Kolkata, and other metro cities. Below are the documents mentioned for the US visa for Indian students: 

• A valid passport with a validity date of at least six months beyond your period of stay
• A printed copy of DS-160, the online application form
• SEVIS Fee Receipt
• Interview appointment letter (original and copy)
• Form I-20 sent by the college (where you are going to study)
• Visa fee payment confirmation receipt
• Bank statement for at least three years showing that you have enough assets to pay for the first year (could be of parent or guardian)
• Pay/salary slips
• Original mark sheets/provisional certificates
• Score sheet of exams like TOEFL or IELTS as ELP proofs along with either ACT or SAT for UG admissions or GMAT or GRE for PG admissions
• Financial Documents are required to show financial strength to support education in the USA

Check the Step-by-Step Guide for US Student VISA Appointments in India

According to an unofficial source, the acceptance rate of the University of California, Los Angeles is 9% whereas the UCR acceptance rate is 70%. This shows that the University of California, Los Angeles is harder to get into than the University of California Riverside. However, in both cases, it is not impossible to get into the university. To get admitted to the institution, students must meet the selection requirements and achieve exceptional academic performance. While UCR comes before considerations like high school GPA, advanced placement or foreign baccalaureate courses, eligibility in the local context, low family income, and more, UC Los Angeles gives priority to characteristics like academic GPA.

NYU and UCLA are both excellent universities for higher studies. NYU is a private university, whereas, UCLA is a state-funded school. Popular study areas at NYU are Social Sciences, Economics, Nursing, Business and Management, etc. On the other hand, popular study areas at UCLA are Arts and Humanities, Psychology, Geography, History, etc. NYU acceptance rate is around 8%, whereas UCLA's acceptance rate is around 9%. The acceptance rate justifies that both the universities are competitive. In terms of the U.S. specific rankings, UCLA ranks better with #15 in 2025. On the other hand, in the 2025 National Universities category, NYU ranks at #30 in 2025.

The University of Southern California acceptance rate is 9.8% for Fall 2024. On the other hand, UCLA acceptance rate is around 9%. Though there is not much of a difference in the acceptance rate of both these universities, it is still worth noticing that these universities are very competitive. Both the universities have renowned academic programs but each have their own exceptional specific programs. USC is known for its Film and Television programme within the School of Cinematic Arts. Other strong programs of USC are Engineering, Communication and Journalism, Business Administration, etc. Highly ranked courses of UCLA belong from the schools like School of Nursing, School of Education and Information Sciences, School of Theater, Film and Television, etc. Deciding where to study out of USC or UCLA depends on students' choices eventually.