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2021 Best Colleges in the United States for Students from Saudi Arabia

551 Colleges
$47,289 Avg Tuition & Fees*
67% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

Quality BadgeWith all of the options international students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

Our analysis looked at 551 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for Saudi Arabian students. 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.

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Top Colleges in the U.S. for Students from Saudi Arabia

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1

Our 2021 rankings named University of Southern California the best school for Saudi Arabian students working on their bachelor’s degree. USC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 5,745 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 22.5% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at USC come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read More…

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Boston University. It ranked #2 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian students list. Boston University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Boston, Massachusetts that handed out 4,788 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 24.6% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Boston U to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Boston University Report

3

Out of the 551 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Northeastern University landed the #3 spot on the list. Northeastern is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4,358 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Of the total number of students at the school, 29.2% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Northeastern are China, India, and Taiwan.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Northeastern University Report

4

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Indiana University - Bloomington. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian students list. Bloomington, Indiana is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 7,959 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 10.2% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at IU Bloomington come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.

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 Indiana University - Bloomington Report

5

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Arizona State University - Tempe helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Saudi Arabian students. Arizona State University - Tempe is a large public school located in Tempe, Arizona that handed out 14,829 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 10.4% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at ASU - Tempe are China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.

Full Arizona State University - Tempe Report

6

University of Pennsylvania ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. University of Pennsylvania is a large private not-for-profit school located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that handed out 3,499 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 19.5% are international. 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

7
Harvard crest
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA

Harvard University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. Harvard University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Cambridge, Massachusetts that handed out 1,618 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 22.9% are international. Students from as far away as China, Canada, and India come to Harvard to study.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 5 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read More…

8

With a ranking of #8, University of South Florida - Main Campus did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students. University of South Florida - Main Campus is a large public school located in Tampa, Florida that handed out 10,333 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 8.6% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at USF Tampa come from such countries as India, China, and Saudi Arabia.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read More…

9

Columbia University in the City of New York ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 2,654 bachelor’s degrees 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.

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 full report on Columbia University in the City of New York

10

University of Delaware ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. Located in Newark, Delaware, the large public school awarded 4,743 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 9.7% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UD are China, Saudi Arabia, and India.

With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on University of Delaware

11

Georgia Institute of Technology - Main Campus ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the large public school handed out 3,879 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 24.7% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Georgia Tech 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 More…

12
Georgetown crest
Georgetown University
Washington, DC

Georgetown University landed the #12 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students. Georgetown University is a large private not-for-profit school located in Washington, District of Columbia that handed out 2,120 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 17.7% are international. Students studying at Georgetown 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%.

Full Georgetown University Report

13

University of Dayton ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. Located in Dayton, Ohio, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 2,123 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 8.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, Saudi Arabia, and India come to UDayton to study.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on University of Dayton

14

George Washington University ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 3,572 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Around 12.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to GWU to study.

With a freshman retention rate of 88%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read More…

15
UF crest
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL

University of Florida ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. Located in Gainesville, Florida, the large public school handed out 9,775 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 7.4% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at UF 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 University of Florida

16

New York University landed the #16 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian 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.

International students make up 27.6% of the total student body at the school. 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.

Read More…

17

Michigan State University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students ranking, coming in at #17. Michigan State is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. 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.

Read full report on Michigan State University

18

With a ranking of #18, Pennsylvania State University - University Park did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students. Located in University Park, Pennsylvania, the large public school handed out 16,675 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 10.3% are international.

With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read More…

19
Rice crest
Rice University
Houston, TX

Rice University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students ranking, coming in at #19. Rice is located in Houston, Texas and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,364 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 23.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Rice to study.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.

Read full report on Rice University

20

Southern Methodist University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students ranking. SMU is located in Dallas, Texas and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 2,105 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 9.0% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Saudi Arabia come to SMU to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 90%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Southern Methodist University Report

21
U Miami crest
University of Miami
Coral Gables, FL

University of Miami came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students ranking. Located in Coral Gables, Florida, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 3,348 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 13.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, Kuwait, and Venezuela come to U Miami to study.

With a freshman retention rate of 91%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full University of Miami Report

22

The University of Texas at Austin ranked #22 on this year’s Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students list. Located in Austin, Texas, the large public school handed out 10,592 bachelor’s degrees 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.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full The University of Texas at Austin Report

23

With a ranking of #23, University of Colorado Boulder did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students. CU - Boulder is a public institution located in Boulder, Colorado. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7,404 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 6.4% are international. Students studying at CU - Boulder come from such countries as China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Read More…

24

Case Western Reserve University landed the #24 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students. Located in Cleveland, Ohio, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,541 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 18.1% are international. Students studying at Case Western 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 93%.

Read full report on Case Western Reserve University

25

Rochester Institute of Technology landed the #25 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students. RIT is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Rochester, New York. It awarded 2,565 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 12.1% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at RIT are India, China, and Saudi Arabia.

With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read More…

Rest of the Top 50 Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian students

Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:

26
27
Oregon State Crest
Oregon State University
Corvallis, Oregon
28
GMU Crest
George Mason University
Fairfax, Virginia
29
30
31
32
33

34

35
University of Arizona Crest
University of Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
36
CUA Crest
Catholic University of America
Washington, District of Columbia
37
Stanford Crest
Stanford University
Stanford, California
38
39
University of Tulsa Crest
University of Tulsa
Tulsa, Oklahoma
40
41
DU Crest
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado
42
Syracuse Crest
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York
43
University of Rochester Crest
University of Rochester
Rochester, New York

44
Virginia Tech Crest
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia

45
46
47
NC State Crest
North Carolina State University
Raleigh, North Carolina
48
49
Auburn Crest
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
50

Rest of the Top 15% Best Colleges in the United States for International Students

To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:

RankCollegeLocation
51University of California - BerkeleyBerkeley, CA
52Drexel UniversityPhiladelphia, PA
53University at BuffaloBuffalo, NY
54Texas A&M University - College StationCollege Station, TX
55Temple UniversityPhiladelphia, PA
56Carnegie Mellon UniversityPittsburgh, PA
57University of ConnecticutStorrs, CT
58Cornell UniversityIthaca, NY
59University of Minnesota - Twin CitiesMinneapolis, MN
60Saint Louis UniversitySaint Louis, MO
61Northwestern UniversityEvanston, IL
62Colorado State University - Fort CollinsFort Collins, CO
63Ohio State University - Main CampusColumbus, OH
64University of San DiegoSan Diego, CA
65Pepperdine UniversityMalibu, CA
RankCollegeLocation
66American UniversityWashington, DC
67Johns Hopkins UniversityBaltimore, MD
68University of OregonEugene, OR
69University of UtahSalt Lake City, UT
70University of Maryland - College ParkCollege Park, MD
71University of KansasLawrence, KS
72Kansas State UniversityManhattan, KS
73Worcester Polytechnic InstituteWorcester, MA
74Santa Clara UniversitySanta Clara, CA
75Colorado School of MinesGolden, CO
76Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, VA
77Loyola Marymount UniversityLos Angeles, CA
78DePaul UniversityChicago, IL
79Florida Institute of TechnologyMelbourne, FL
80Lehigh UniversityBethlehem, PA
81Bentley UniversityWaltham, MA
82Duke UniversityDurham, NC
83Emory UniversityAtlanta, GA

Honorable Mentions

These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges for Saudi Arabian Students ranking:

RankCollegeLocation
84Robert Morris UniversityMoon Township, PA
85University of HoustonHouston, TX
86University of South Carolina - ColumbiaColumbia, SC
87Iowa State UniversityAmes, IA
88Gannon UniversityErie, PA
89Seattle UniversitySeattle, WA
90Chapman UniversityOrange, CA
91Oklahoma State University - Main CampusStillwater, OK
92University of Nebraska - LincolnLincoln, NE
93University of Oklahoma Norman CampusNorman, OK
94University of EvansvilleEvansville, IN
95William & MaryWilliamsburg, VA
96University of Missouri - ColumbiaColumbia, MO
97University of Cincinnati - Main CampusCincinnati, OH
98Brown UniversityProvidence, RI
RankCollegeLocation
99Milwaukee School of EngineeringMilwaukee, WI
100Duquesne UniversityPittsburgh, PA
101San Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA
102Saint Joseph’s UniversityPhiladelphia, PA
103Lawrence Technological UniversitySouthfield, MI
104University of Central FloridaOrlando, FL
105Wake Forest UniversityWinston-Salem, NC
106Florida State UniversityTallahassee, FL
107University of Illinois at ChicagoChicago, IL
108Rutgers University - New BrunswickNew Brunswick, NJ
109University of San FranciscoSan Francisco, CA
110Tufts UniversityMedford, MA
111Yale UniversityNew Haven, CT

More Rankings >

Notes and References

Footnotes

*Avg Tuition and Fees and Avg 4-Year Grad Rate are for the top 25 schools only.

References

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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