by our College Data Analytics Team
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 Emirati Students ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 101 schools in the United States to determine which ones were the best for Emirati students. 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.
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.
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
New York University tops this year’s ranking as the best school for Emirati students. Located in New York, New York, the large private not-for-profit school 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 from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to NYU to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #2 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati students list. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 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.
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.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Columbia University in the City of New York. The school came in at #3 in this year’s ranking. 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.
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.
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.
Out of the 101 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Arizona State University - Tempe landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Tempe, Arizona, the large public school awarded 14,829 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 10.4% of the total student body at the school. 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%.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Northeastern University. The school came in at #5 in this year’s ranking. Located in Boston, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 4,358 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
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.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%.
With a ranking of #6, Case Western Reserve University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students. Cleveland, Ohio is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,541 students in 2020-2021.
Around 18.1% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at Case Western are China, India, and South Korea.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
Boston University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. 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 studying at Boston U 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.
Indiana University - Bloomington landed the #8 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students. IU Bloomington is located in Bloomington, Indiana and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7,959 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
International students make up 10.2% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to IU Bloomington to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
Pennsylvania State University - University Park did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking, coming in at #9. Located in University Park, Pennsylvania, the large public school awarded 16,675 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 10.3% of the total student body at the school.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
With a ranking of #10, Rice University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students. Rice is a private not-for-profit institution located in Houston, Texas. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 1,364 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 23.3% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Rice to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Michigan State University came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. Michigan State is a large public school situated in East Lansing, Michigan. It awarded 9,450 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 9.1% are international. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to Michigan State to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.
University of Pennsylvania came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. Located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 3,499 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 19.5% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at UPenn are 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.
George Mason University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. GMU is a large public school situated in Fairfax, Virginia. It awarded 6,388 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 7.2% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and Saudi Arabia come to GMU to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 86%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
University of South Florida - Main Campus landed the #14 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students. Located in Tampa, Florida, the large public school 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 from as far away as India, China, and Saudi Arabia come to USF Tampa to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 92%.
With a ranking of #15, Harvard University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students. 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 studying at Harvard come from such countries as China, Canada, and India.
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.
University of Miami did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Coral Gables, Florida, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 3,348 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
Around 13.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at U Miami come from such countries as China, Kuwait, and Venezuela.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
Oregon State University came in at #17 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. Oregon State University is a large public school located in Corvallis, Oregon that handed out 6,299 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 8.8% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Oregon State come from such countries as China, Saudi Arabia, and India.
Auburn University came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. This large public school is located in Auburn, Alabama, and it awarded 5,840 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 8.1% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Auburn are China, India, and Saudi Arabia.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking, coming in at #19. Located in Seattle, Washington, the large public school awarded 9,451 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 16.2% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UW Seattle to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.
With a ranking of #20, Bentley University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students. Waltham, Massachusetts is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,123 students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 17.1% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and Venezuela come to Bentley to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
George Washington University ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges for Emirati Students list. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 3,572 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 12.3% of the total student body at the school. 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.
University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. Madison, Wisconsin is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,926 students in 2020-2021.
International students make up 13.2% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UW - Madison are China, India, and South Korea.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
American University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. Located in Washington, District of Columbia, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 2,109 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
International students make up 12.9% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, Saudi Arabia, and India come to The American University to study.
University of California - Berkeley came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Emirati Students ranking. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 10,523 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.
Around 16.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to UC Berkeley to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.
North Carolina State University landed the #25 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Emirati Students. Raleigh, North Carolina is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 6,377 students in 2020-2021.
Of the total number of students at the school, 9.1% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at NC State are India, China, and South Korea.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%.
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.
