2021 Best Colleges in the United States for Students from China
842Colleges
$53,046Avg Tuition & Fees*
76%Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*
It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for international students. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for Chinese Students ranking.
After analyzing 842 schools in the United States, we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for Chinese students. Our ranking methodology focuses a number of different objective factors - such as the overall quality of the school, number of total international students at the school, and the percentage of international students on campus - to make this determination.
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors such as those of importance to online students or returning adults or those who value diversity and value for your money.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another. Bookmark it so you can compare any new schools that might interest you.
Our 2021 rankings named Columbia University in the City of New York the best school for Chinese students working on their bachelor’s degree. New York, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 2,654 students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 34.9% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Columbia to study.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Southern California helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Chinese students. USC is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5,745 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Around 22.5% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at USC are China, India, and South Korea.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Out of the 842 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern University landed the #3 spot on the list. Northeastern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The school has a large population, and it awarded 4,358 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 29.2% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Taiwan come to Northeastern to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
A rank of #4 on our list means Carnegie Mellon University is a great place for Chinese students working on their bachelor’s degree. Carnegie Mellon is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It awarded 1,953 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 37.1% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Carnegie Mellon to study.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at New York University helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Chinese students. NYU is a private not-for-profit institution located in New York, New York. The school has a large population, and it awarded 6,752 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 27.6% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to NYU to study.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Chinese Students ranking. Located in Champaign, Illinois, the large public school handed out 9,305 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 19.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UIUC to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #7, Boston University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. Boston, Massachusetts is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 4,788 students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 24.6% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Boston U come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
Cornell University landed the #8 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. Ithaca, New York is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 4,287 students in 2020-2021.
Around 21.8% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Canada come to Cornell to study.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students ranking, coming in at #9. Located in La Jolla, California, the large public school awarded 9,086 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 21.4% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at UCSD are China, India, and South Korea.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of California - Berkeley came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Chinese Students ranking. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 10,523 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 16.2% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Berkeley are China, South Korea, and India.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #11, University of California - Los Angeles did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10,102 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Around 13.8% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at UCLA come from such countries as China, South Korea, and India.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
University of Michigan - Ann Arbor landed the #12 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. This large public school is located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and it awarded 9,144 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 13.9% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to U-M to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
With a ranking of #13, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 3,499 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 19.5% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UPenn to study.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Johns Hopkins University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges for Chinese Students list. Johns Hopkins University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Baltimore, Maryland that handed out 1,847 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 19.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Johns Hopkins come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
With a ranking of #15, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. Located in Irvine, California, the large public school handed out 9,882 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 18.4% are international. Students studying at UC Irvine come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Duke University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for Chinese Students list. Durham, North Carolina is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 2,319 students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 18.3% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Duke are China, India, and South Korea.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of California - Davis landed the #17 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. University of California - Davis is a large public school located in Davis, California that handed out 9,846 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 17.5% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Davis are China, India, and South Korea.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Washington University in St Louis ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges for Chinese Students list. Located in Saint Louis, Missouri, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 2,441 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 21.0% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to WUSTL to study.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
With a ranking of #19, University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. UW Seattle is a public institution located in Seattle, Washington. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9,451 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 16.2% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at UW Seattle come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Michigan State University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges for Chinese Students list. This large public school is located in East Lansing, Michigan, and it awarded 9,450 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 9.1% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at Michigan State are China, South Korea, and India.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Northwestern University landed the #21 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. Located in Evanston, Illinois, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 2,722 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 16.3% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Northwestern come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
University of Rochester ranked #22 on this year’s Best Colleges for Chinese Students list. University of Rochester is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Rochester, New York. It awarded 2,035 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 30.3% are international. Students studying at University of Rochester come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
University of Wisconsin - Madison landed the #23 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students. Located in Madison, Wisconsin, the large public school awarded 9,926 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 13.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at UW - Madison come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%.
University of Chicago did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students ranking, coming in at #24. Located in Chicago, Illinois, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 2,163 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 26.6% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at UChicago are China, India, and South Korea.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Stanford University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Chinese Students ranking, coming in at #25. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 1,511 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 23.9% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Canada come to Stanford to study.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.
*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 25 schools only.
References
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
college factual
It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for international students. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for Chinese Students ranking.
