California Institute of Technology, also known as Caltech, is renowned nationwide as one of the finest schools for science and engineering. Scientists at Caltech are and have always been on the cutting edge of research and have been responsible for many scientific discoveries and breakthroughs, such as the discovery of antimatter in 1934 by Carl Anderson and the discovery of quarks by Murray Gell-Mann in the 1960s. Combined, Caltech faculty and alumni boast 32 Nobel Prizes, 6 Crafoord Prizes and much more.
Caltech is a prestigious schools, and applicants have an average of a 2300 SAT score.
Berkeley was established in 1869 and has been a leader in academics and research ever since. Providing its students with both a "classical" and "practical" education, Berkeley's 48 academic programs consistently rank among the top in the nation. To ensure this, Berkeley provides its students with the best possible faculty--to date more than 20 Berkeley faculty members have been awarded Nobel Prizes. Berkeley is an extremely selective school, and gaining admission can be difficult. Generally, one out of four applicants is admitted to the university.
Stanford University, located in Paolo Alto, California, was established in 1891. Originally designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, the man behind New York's Central Park, Stanford features some outstanding landscape and architecture, such as the Hoover Tower and Memorial Church. Stanford emphasizes a well-rounded education, training students not only for personal success, but also for the general good of society, and achieves this by offering a very small student-to-teacher ratio. Stanford is also extremely selective, with about an 8 percent acceptance rate. Ninety-two percent of students who are accepted are in the top 10 percent of their class, and over 60 percent of students score between a 700 and 800 on each section of the SAT.
Pepperdine University is an independent Christian university in Malibu, California. Pepperdine was founded in 1937, and after significant growth opened its Malibu campus in 1972. The Malibu campus is divided into fiver schools: the Frank R. Seaver College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences, The George L. Graziadio School of Business and Management, The Graduate School of Education and Psychology, The School of Law, and The School of Public Policy. All of Pepperdine's academic programs are firmly rooted in Christian tradition and ethics. Pepperdine is a small university, with a student body of about 7,500.