The Pac 12 is a strong conference both athletically and academically, but it often gets marginalized due to its West Coast location. Since most college sports coverage is focused on the SEC and Big Ten, which are located in the Eastern and Central time zones and have the biggest and most rabid fan bases, the Pac 12 with its late start times often gets left out.
But don’t sleep on the Pac 12. It’s a solid conference full of respected institutions both on and off the field, even if it’s losing two of its staple members, UCLA and USC, to the Big Ten. If you’re hoping to go to college on the West Coast, the Pac 12 is a good place to start looking. Here is our list of the Pac 12 schools ranked academically.
Table of Contents
- Pac 12 Schools Ranked Academically
- #1: Stanford University
- #2: University of California—Los Angeles (Departing Member)
- #3: University of California—Berkeley
- #4: University of Southern California (Departing Member)
- #5: University of Washington
- #6: University of Oregon
- #7 (tie): University of Colorado—Boulder
- #7 (tie): University of Arizona
- #9 (tie): Arizona State University
- #9 (tie): University of Utah
- #11: Oregon State University
- #12: Washington State University
Pac 12 Schools Ranked Academically
We try to formulate our academic rankings by focusing on the factors that actually influence the quality of education a student receives, and ignoring those that don’t. As a result, our rankings often don’t line up perfectly with U.S. News and other publications.
For instance, while metrics like alumni giving rates — a factor in the U.S. News rankings — might indicate how loyal the alumni of a particular school are, and one might be able to make an argument that students who believe they received top-notch educations are more likely to be loyal, we don’t see a lot of direct correlation between alumni giving and education quality, so we ignore that factor and others that aren’t closely tied to education quality.
Instead, we focus on hard metrics that indicate a school is admitting the best and brightest and putting them through a rigorous curriculum: graduation rates, incoming student metrics, and the reputation and rankings of specific departments and programs within the university.
Here are the Pac 12 schools ranked academically.
#1: Stanford University
- Location: Palo Alto, CA
- U.S. News ranking: #6
- Acceptance rate: 3.9%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,470-1,560
- Middle 50% ACT range: 34-35
- Graduation rate: 95.6%
Stanford University is not only the top academic school in the Pac 12, but a strong argument can be made that it’s the best school in the country. It’s every bit as selective as any Ivy League school — Harvard has a slightly lower acceptance rate, but the two schools have similar incoming student stats — and its location right in the middle of Silicon Valley arguably positions students better for post-graduation success.
Put it this way: If Stanford were in any of the Power 5 conferences, it would be the top academic school, and not by an insignificant margin. Even if it were a member of the Ivy League, we’d put in a three-way tie with Harvard and Princeton for best in the conference.
#2: University of California—Los Angeles (Departing Member)
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- U.S. News ranking: #20
- Acceptance rate: 10.7%
- Middle 50% SAT range: N/A (test blind)
- Middle 50% ACT range: N/A (test blind)
- Graduation rate: 92%
When UCLA departs the Pac 12 for the Big 10 in 2024, the latter conference will get a huge boost in its academic profile, and the former will take a huge hit. That’s because UCLA is unquestionably the best public university in the country.
Why is it the best? It gets the most applicants, has the lowest acceptance rate, conducts the highest amount of large-scale research, and is arguably the most recognizable name internationally.
#3: University of California—Berkeley
- Location: Berkeley, CA
- U.S. News ranking: #22
- Acceptance rate: 14.5%
- Middle 50% SAT range: N/A (test blind)
- Middle 50% ACT range: N/A (test blind)
- Graduation rate: 92%
UC-Berkeley was considered the nation’s top public university for decades, but sometime in the late 2000s or early 2010s, UCLA zoomed past it. Berkeley arguably still comes in at a strong #2, though students and alums at the University of Michigan and the University of Virginia might have something to say about that.
Why did UC-Berkeley get passed by UCLA? Part of it is logistics — Berkeley has a legendary overcrowding problem, with many freshmen getting shut out of housing. And because rents in the area are priced so exorbitantly high, stories abound of students living in cars and motels. That’s not exactly a situation that screams “most elite school in the country.”
#4: University of Southern California (Departing Member)
- Location: Los Angeles, CA
- U.S. News ranking: #27
- Acceptance rate: 12.5%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,330-1,520
- Middle 50% ACT range: 30-34
- Graduation rate: 92%
The Pac 12 will take a further academic hit when USC departs in 2024 along with UCLA. Many people who haven’t paid close attention in recent years to the college rankings might not realize what an academically elite school USC has become. It’s so far removed now from its 1980s/1990s “University of Spoiled Children” days that it might as well not even be the same university.
Just to paint a picture of USC’s prestige and selectivity these days, when the Varsity Blues scandal happened back in the late 2010s, parents were forking over just as much money to get their kids into USC through the back door as they were to get them into Stanford.
#5: University of Washington
- Location: Seattle, WA
- U.S. News ranking: #59
- Acceptance rate: 53.5%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,240-1,450
- Middle 50% ACT range: 29-34
- Graduation rate: 84%
University of Washington, or UDub as it’s called on campus, is arguably more prestigious on an international level than it is domestically. Its computer science program is one of the best in the nation and attracts students from all over the globe.
Don’t let the school’s 50-plus percent acceptance rate fool you. Its student body is a bright bunch, and the most competitive majors on campus accept far, far fewer than half of their applicants.
#6: University of Oregon
- Location: Eugene, OR
- U.S. News ranking: #99
- Acceptance rate: 93.4%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,120-1,330
- Middle 50% ACT range: 22-30
- Graduation rate: 74%
The University of Oregon is a top-notch public university. Ignore the 90-plus percent acceptance rate and the SAT/ACT midranges that might not look impressive at first glance. Instead, pay attention to individual programs within the university and the outcomes of their graduates.
Oregon has top-notch programs in journalism, business, and pre-law. Its graduates are heavily recruited by Fortune 500 companies all over the country. Those who apply to law and med school have high acceptance rates.
And with “Uncle Phil” Knight, the founder of Nike and UO’s most famous alum, throwing obscene amounts of money at the school every year, the facilities on campus just keep getting better.
#7 (tie): University of Colorado—Boulder
- Location: Boulder, CO
- U.S. News ranking: #99
- Acceptance rate: 80%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,180-1,380
- Middle 50% ACT range: 25-31
- Graduation rate: 74%
CU-Boulder moved over to the Pac 12 from the Big 12 in 2010 and sits firmly in the middle of its academic hierarchy. It has many highly regarded programs full of motivated students but also quite a few students who are there more for the Rocky Mountain lifestyle than for the academics.
CU-Boulder has been expanding its reach throughout the 21st century, attracting more and more kids from the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.
We have it tied with Arizona despite higher incoming student stats and a higher graduation rate because it has fewer individual programs and departments that stand out.
#7 (tie): University of Arizona
- Location: Tucson, AZ
- U.S. News ranking: #103
- Acceptance rate: 87.1%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,140-1,360
- Middle 50% ACT range: 21-29
- Graduation rate: 64%
The University of Arizona has an unimpressive graduation rate and middling incoming student stats, and it accepts nearly 9 out of 10 applicants. These numbers don’t scream “elite public university,” but several individual programs within the U of A rank among the best in the country. Most notably, the computer science department punches well above its weight and holds its own against many higher-ranked schools. Graduates regularly find jobs at Silicon Valley firms and Fortune 500 companies.
#9 (tie): Arizona State University
- Location: Tempe, AZ
- U.S. News ranking: #117
- Acceptance rate: 88.2%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,100-1,320
- Middle 50% ACT range: 21-28
- Graduation rate: 67%
For decades, Arizona State was known more for its party scene and the attractiveness of its student body than for its academic prowess. That started to change when the school began dumping resources into its Barrett Honors College. The Honors College now competes with highly ranked universities for the most talented students in the country, and its presence has raised the profile of the university as a whole. Not to mention, ASU is still a heck of a fun place to be!
#9 (tie): University of Utah
- Location: Salt Lake City, UT
- U.S. News ranking: #99
- Acceptance rate: 84%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,190-1,380
- Middle 50% ACT range: 22-30
- Graduation rate: 67%
The University of Utah provides a solid education and fits right into the Pac 12. Its graduation rate is a little low, and it doesn’t have elite incoming student stats, but the students who do make it to graduation tend to do well afterward. It loses a few points on our list because it simply lacks the national cachet of some of the schools listed above it.
#11: Oregon State University
- Location: Corvallis, OR
- U.S. News ranking: #162
- Acceptance rate: 81%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,080-1,310
- Middle 50% ACT range: 22-28
- Graduation rate: 67%
Oregon State is the “ag” school in Oregon, known mostly for its agricultural and STEM programs. It’s ranked several spots below its archrival, the University of Oregon, because it has a significantly lower graduation rate, lower incoming student stats, and a much lower per-student endowment. Also, the college town of Corvallis, while a fun place, lacks the “it” factor of Eugene.
As a general rule, Oregon State pulls more students from the rural reaches of Oregon, while UO snags more kids from Portland and its suburbs.
#12: Washington State University
- Location: Pullman, WA
- U.S. News ranking: #179
- Acceptance rate: 85.2%
- Middle 50% SAT range: 1,020-1,240
- Middle 50% ACT range: 18-25
- Graduation rate: 59%
Washington State comes in last on our list not because it isn’t a good school but simply because we had to put someone here.
WSU, or “Wazzu” as students call it, has many solid programs, including in journalism and computer science.
But it lands at the tail end of our list because of its low graduation rate — fewer than 6 out of 10 students who matriculate as freshmen graduate within six years — and low incoming student stats — a quarter of the most recent incoming freshman class scored below an 18 on the ACT.
That said, if you come to Wazzu and apply yourself, you can get a world-class education and leave with a highly marketable degree.
