2021 Best Colleges for International Students in California
78
Colleges
$51,907
Avg Tuition & Fees*
73%
Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*
When pursuing a degree in today's world, international students have many different options to choose from. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for International Students in California ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
After analyzing 78 schools in California, we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for international students in California. To come up with this ranking, we look at a number of factors that are all objective measurements. These factors include the school's overall quality as determined by our Best Colleges ranking and the percentage of international students on campus.
See what other factors we include in 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 International Students
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
Our analysis found University of Southern California to be the best school for international students in California in this year’s ranking. 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. Students studying at USC 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 91%.
Read full report on University of Southern California
Out of the 78 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #2 spot on the list. 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.
Around 16.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at UC Berkeley come from such countries as China, South Korea, and India.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Read full report on University of California - Berkeley
The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Stanford University helped the school earn the #3 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for international students in California. 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.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 86%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Full Stanford University Report
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - Los Angeles. The school came in at #4 in this year’s ranking. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school awarded 10,102 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 13.8% are international. Students studying at UCLA 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 - Los Angeles
Out of the 78 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #5 spot on the list. UCSD is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 9,086 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 21.4% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UCSD to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
Full University of California - San Diego Report
University of California - Davis ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges for international Students in California list. 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.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Read More…
With a ranking of #7, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California. 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 from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UC Irvine 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 full report on University of California - Irvine
With a ranking of #8, California Institute of Technology did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Pasadena, California, and it awarded 227 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 30.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Caltech come from such countries as China, India, and Canada.
With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on California Institute of Technology
Santa Clara University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California ranking, coming in at #9. Located in Santa Clara, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1,656 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 11.3% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at SCU are India, China, and Taiwan.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Santa Clara University
University of California - Santa Barbara did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California ranking, coming in at #10. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 7,001 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 14.9% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at UCSB 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 91%.
Read full report on University of California - Santa Barbara
Pepperdine University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California ranking, coming in at #11. Pepperdine is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Malibu, California. It awarded 1,024 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 9.6% are international. Students studying at Pepperdine come from such countries as China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.
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With a ranking of #12, Claremont McKenna College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California. Claremont McKenna College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Claremont, California that handed out 431 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 14.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Claremont McKenna come from such countries as China, India, and Canada.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full report on Claremont McKenna College
Pomona College ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for international Students in California list. Pomona is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Claremont, California. It awarded 395 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 11.1% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Pomona 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.
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Soka University of America ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges for international Students in California list. Soka University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Aliso Viejo, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 85 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 48.4% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Soka University are Japan, Nepal, and India.
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.
Full Soka University of America Report
University of San Francisco ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges for international Students in California list. USFCA is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in San Francisco, California. It awarded 1,682 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 12.7% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Indonesia come to USFCA to study.
Read full report on University of San Francisco
With a ranking of #16, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California. Loyola Marymount is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 1,856 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 9.5% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Loyola Marymount are Indonesia, China, and Saudi Arabia.
Read More…
With a ranking of #17, University of California - Riverside did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California. UCR is a large public school situated in Riverside, California. It awarded 6,193 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 7.7% of the total student body at the school. 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.
Read full report on University of California - Riverside
University of San Diego landed the #18 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California. Located in San Diego, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1,672 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 5.7% are international. Students studying at USD come from such countries as China, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
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Harvey Mudd College came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for international Students in California ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Claremont, California, and it awarded 197 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 7.3% are international. Students studying at Harvey Mudd College come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read More…
Chapman University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges for international Students in California list. Chapman University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in Orange, California that handed out 1,944 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 4.6% are international. Students studying at Chapman come from such countries as China, Saudi Arabia, and India.
Full Chapman University Report
University of California - Santa Cruz ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges for international Students in California list. UC Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5,426 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Of the total number of students at the school, 9.6% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Taiwan come to UC Santa Cruz to study.
Read More…
University of the Pacific did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California ranking, coming in at #22. Located in Stockton, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 872 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 7.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Pacific come from such countries as China, South Korea, and India.
With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read More…
Occidental College came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for international Students in California ranking. Oxy is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 487 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 6.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong come to Oxy to study.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read More…
Pitzer College did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for international Students in California ranking, coming in at #24. Pitzer College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Claremont, California that handed out 231 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 8.4% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and United Kingdom come to Pitzer 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.
Full Pitzer College Report
Scripps College ranked #25 on this year’s Best Colleges for international Students in California list. Scripps is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Claremont, California. It awarded 301 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 4.4% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and Canada come to Scripps to study.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.
Read full report on Scripps College
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