2021 Best Colleges in the United States for Students from Nigeria
475
Colleges
$52,079
Avg Tuition & Fees*
75%
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 Nigerian Students ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 475 colleges and universities across the United States to determine which were the best for Nigerian students. Instead of depending on subjective information, we focus on objective factors to determine this ranking. These factors include such things as the total number of international students at the school and the school's overall quality.
Find out more about our ranking methodology.
Customizing Your List
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.
Top Colleges in the U.S. for Students from Nigeria
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
Our 2021 rankings named Northeastern University the best school for Nigerian students working on their bachelor’s degree. Northeastern University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 4,358 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 29.2% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Northeastern are China, India, and Taiwan.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Full Northeastern University Report
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Columbia University in the City of New York helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Nigerian students. Columbia University in the City of New York is a large private not-for-profit school located in New York, New York that handed out 2,654 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 34.9% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Columbia come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Columbia University in the City of New York
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at New York University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Nigerian students. New York University is a large private not-for-profit school located in New York, New York that handed out 6,752 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 27.6% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at NYU come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full New York University Report
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Cornell University. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian students list. Cornell is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Ithaca, New York. It awarded 4,287 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 21.8% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Cornell come from such countries as China, India, and Canada.
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.
Read full report on Cornell University
Out of the 475 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus landed the #5 spot on the list. This large public school is located in Atlanta, Georgia, and it awarded 3,879 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 24.7% are international. Students studying at Georgia Tech 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%.
Read full report on Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus
University of Southern California came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Nigerian Students ranking. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 5,745 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 22.5% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at USC are China, India, and South Korea.
With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on University of Southern California
Harvard University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Nigerian Students ranking. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,618 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 22.9% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Harvard come from such countries as China, Canada, and India.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read More…
Yale University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students list. Located in New Haven, Connecticut, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,431 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 21.1% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Yale come from such countries as China, Canada, and India.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Read More…
With a ranking of #9, Illinois Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students. Illinois Tech is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 620 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 33.9% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Spain come to Illinois Tech to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
Read More…
Boston University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students list. 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.
Of the total number of students at the school, 24.6% are international. 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%.
Read More…
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students ranking, coming in at #11. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is a large public school located in Champaign, Illinois that handed out 9,305 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 19.2% of the total student body at the school. 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.
Read More…
Carnegie Mellon University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students list. 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.
International students make up 37.1% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Carnegie Mellon are China, India, and South Korea.
The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools.
Read full report on Carnegie Mellon University
With a ranking of #13, University of Pennsylvania did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian 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.
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.
Full University of Pennsylvania Report
With a ranking of #14, Duke University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Durham, North Carolina, and it awarded 2,319 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 18.3% are international. Students studying at Duke come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
The student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.
Full Duke University Report
With a ranking of #15, Johns Hopkins University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students. Located in Baltimore, Maryland, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,847 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 19.2% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Johns Hopkins 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.
Read More…
Northwestern University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Evanston, Illinois, and it awarded 2,722 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 16.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Northwestern to study.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on Northwestern University
Texas A&M University - College Station did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students ranking, coming in at #17. This large public school is located in College Station, Texas, and it awarded 13,409 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 6.4% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Texas A&M College Station 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 Texas A&M University - College Station
University of Maryland - College Park did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students ranking, coming in at #18. Located in College Park, Maryland, the large public school handed out 8,838 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 10.0% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UMCP to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Full University of Maryland - College Park Report
University of Rochester ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students list. Rochester, New York is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 2,035 students in 2020-2021.
Around 30.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to University of Rochester to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
Read More…
With a ranking of #20, University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students. Tampa, Florida is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 10,333 students in 2020-2021.
Around 8.6% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at USF Tampa come from such countries as India, China, and Saudi Arabia.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on University of South Florida - Main Campus
With a ranking of #21, The University of Texas at Austin did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students. Located in Austin, Texas, the large public school awarded 10,592 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 8.3% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UT Austin to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read More…
Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Nigerian Students ranking. MIT is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,249 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
International students make up 29.1% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at MIT come from such countries as China, India, and Canada.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%.
Full Massachusetts Institute of Technology Report
Emory University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students ranking, coming in at #23. Atlanta, Georgia is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 2,691 students in 2020-2021.
Around 15.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Emory 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 93%.
Read full report on Emory University
With a ranking of #24, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students. Located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the large public school handed out 9,144 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 13.9% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at U-M 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 96%.
Read More…
With a ranking of #25, University of California - Berkeley did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10,523 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
International students make up 16.2% of the total student body at the school. 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.
Full University of California - Berkeley Report
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