2021 Best Colleges in California for Students from Iran
25
Colleges
$35,638
Avg Tuition & Fees*
45%
Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*
International students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 25 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for Iranian students in California. Our ranking is based on several objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the total number of international students at the school. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Learn more about our ranking methodology.
Custom Rankings
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as online students or returnings adults.
We've created a tool called College Combat that lets you create your own customized comparisons based on the factors that matter the most to you. We encourage you to try it out and pit your favorite colleges and universities head to head! If you don't have time right now, you can bookmark it for later.
Top Colleges in California for Students from Iran
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
University of Southern California tops this year’s ranking as the best school for Iranian students in California. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 5,745 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 22.5% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to USC to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Read full report on University of Southern California
Out of the 25 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Irvine landed the #2 spot on the list. 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%.
Read full report on University of California - Irvine
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Stanford University. The school came in at #3 in this year’s ranking. Stanford University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Stanford, California that handed out 1,511 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 23.9% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Stanford are China, India, and Canada.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read More…
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of California - Los Angeles helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Iranian students in California. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school handed out 10,102 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 13.8% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UCLA are China, South Korea, and India.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #5 in this year’s ranking. La Jolla, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,086 students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 21.4% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UCSD to study.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read More…
University of California - Berkeley came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California 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. Students studying at UC Berkeley come from such countries as China, South Korea, and India.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on University of California - Berkeley
University of California - Davis landed the #7 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. UC Davis is a public institution located in Davis, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9,846 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 17.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UC Davis to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read More…
California Institute of Technology did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking, coming in at #8. Located in Pasadena, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 227 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 30.5% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Caltech are China, India, and Canada.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read More…
University of California - Riverside did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Riverside, California, the large public school awarded 6,193 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 7.7% are international. Students studying at UCR come from such countries as China, India, and Taiwan.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full University of California - Riverside Report
University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California list. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7,001 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 14.9% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UCSB to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read More…
University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #11 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. University of California - Santa Cruz is a fairly large public school located in Santa Cruz, California that handed out 5,426 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 9.6% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at UC Santa Cruz come from such countries as China, India, and Taiwan.
Read More…
Chapman University landed the #12 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. Located in Orange, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1,944 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 4.6% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, Saudi Arabia, and India come to Chapman to study.
Full Chapman University Report
California State University - Long Beach came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking. CSULB is a public institution located in Long Beach, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9,179 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 6.0% are international. Students studying at CSULB come from such countries as India, China, and Japan.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on California State University - Long Beach
With a ranking of #14, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. San Diego, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 8,719 students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 5.4% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at SDSU are China, India, and Kuwait.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on San Diego State University
University of San Francisco landed the #15 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. University of San Francisco is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 1,682 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 12.7% are international. Students studying at USFCA come from such countries as China, India, and Indonesia.
Read full report on University of San Francisco
With a ranking of #16, San Jose State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. Located in San Jose, California, the large public school awarded 7,192 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 10.2% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at San Jose State are India, China, and Vietnam.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on San Jose State University
California State University - Fullerton came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking. Cal State Fullerton is a large public school situated in Fullerton, California. It awarded 10,010 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 5.9% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at Cal State Fullerton are India, China, and Kuwait.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on California State University - Fullerton
California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #18 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. Cal Poly Pomona is a large public school situated in Pomona, California. It awarded 6,526 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 5.3% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Cal Poly Pomona come from such countries as China, Kuwait, and South Korea.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read More…
California State University - Northridge landed the #19 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California. CSUN is a large public school situated in Northridge, California. It awarded 9,572 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 6.2% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at CSUN come from such countries as Kuwait, China, and India.
Full California State University - Northridge Report
Woodbury University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking, coming in at #20. Woodbury University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Burbank, California that handed out 238 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 8.0% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as Saudi Arabia, China, and Russia come to Woodbury to study.
Read full report on Woodbury University
San Francisco State University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking, coming in at #21. SFSU is located in San Francisco, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6,627 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Of the total number of students at the school, 6.8% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Japan come to SFSU to study.
Read full report on San Francisco State University
California State University - East Bay did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking, coming in at #22. Hayward, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 4,189 students in 2020-2021.
Around 7.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Cal State East Bay come from such countries as China, India, and Saudi Arabia.
Read More…
California State University - Sacramento ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California list. Sacramento, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 7,644 students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 3.9% are international. Students studying at Sac State come from such countries as India, China, and South Korea.
Read full report on California State University - Sacramento
California State University - Los Angeles came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school handed out 5,742 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 6.1% are international. Students studying at Cal State LA come from such countries as India, China, and Saudi Arabia.
Full California State University - Los Angeles Report
Alliant International University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Iranian Students in California ranking, coming in at #25. Located in San Diego, California, the small private for-profit school awarded 19 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 1.3% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at Alliant are China, Qatar, and India.
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.
Read full report on Alliant International University
college factual
