> why can't the other UC system members learn to replicate whatever is necessary in order to work towards having a reputation in the same league as UC Berkeley?
Well, they're not independent. You apply to the UC system and you get a decision back telling you which schools you've been admitted to. So the system is free to decide that one campus is better than another one and implement that decision by assigning better students to the favored campus and worse students to the disfavored one.
I believe that's how Berkeley ended up as the 'top' campus in the first place - it was the best one because it was supposed to be the best one. UCLA is different; it "worked its way up" via applicant preference, by having better weather and/or proximity to Hollywood.
Well, they're not independent. You apply to the UC system and you get a decision back telling you which schools you've been admitted to. So the system is free to decide that one campus is better than another one and implement that decision by assigning better students to the favored campus and worse students to the disfavored one.
I believe that's how Berkeley ended up as the 'top' campus in the first place - it was the best one because it was supposed to be the best one. UCLA is different; it "worked its way up" via applicant preference, by having better weather and/or proximity to Hollywood.