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2021 Best Colleges in California for Students from United Kingdom

41 Colleges
$49,538 Avg Tuition & Fees*
67% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for international students. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking.

We analyzed 41 colleges and universities across California to determine which were the best for British students in California. 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.

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Top Colleges in California for Students from United Kingdom

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1

Our analysis found University of Southern California to be the best school for British students in California in this year’s ranking. 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.

Of the total number of students at the school, 22.5% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to USC 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 University of Southern California Report

2

Out of the 41 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 a public institution located in Berkeley, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10,523 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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

3

Out of the 41 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #3 spot on the list. Stanford is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stanford, California. The school has a fairly large population, 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.

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

Read full report on Stanford University

4

Out of the 41 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school handed out 10,102 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 13.8% of the total student population at the school is 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 More…

5

The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at California Institute of Technology helped the school earn the #5 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for British students in California. Caltech is a private not-for-profit institution located in Pasadena, California. The school has a small population, and it awarded 227 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 30.5% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Caltech come from such countries as China, India, and Canada.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 3 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors.

Read More…

6

University of California - San Diego came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking. UCSD is located in La Jolla, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9,086 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 21.4% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at UCSD are China, India, and South Korea.

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…

7

University of California - Davis came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking. Located in Davis, California, the large public school handed out 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 full report on University of California - Davis

8

University of California - Irvine landed the #8 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. UC Irvine is located in Irvine, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9,882 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

International students make up 18.4% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Irvine are China, India, and South Korea.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 94%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Irvine Report

9

Claremont McKenna College ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges for British Students in California list. Claremont, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 431 students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 14.2% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and Canada come to Claremont McKenna 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…

10

University of San Francisco did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking, coming in at #10. USFCA is a private not-for-profit institution located in San Francisco, California. The school has a fairly large population, and 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

11
Pomona crest
Pomona College
Claremont, CA

Pomona College came in at #11 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking. Pomona is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 395 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 11.1% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Pomona 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 Pomona College Report

12

Pepperdine University landed the #12 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. 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. The top three countries sending students to study at Pepperdine are China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.

Full Pepperdine University Report

13

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #13 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. Located in Santa Barbara, California, the large public school awarded 7,001 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students 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.

Full University of California - Santa Barbara Report

14

With a ranking of #14, Loyola Marymount University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 1,856 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 9.5% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Loyola Marymount are Indonesia, China, and Saudi Arabia.

Full Loyola Marymount University Report

15
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University landed the #15 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. SCU is located in Santa Clara, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,656 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 11.3% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at SCU are India, China, and Taiwan.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full Santa Clara University Report

16
Pitzer crest
Pitzer College
Claremont, CA

Pitzer College landed the #16 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. Pitzer is located in Claremont, California and, has a small student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 231 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

International students make up 8.4% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Pitzer are China, India, and United Kingdom.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one.

Read More…

17

University of San Diego ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for British Students in California list. University of San Diego is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in San Diego, California that handed out 1,672 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 5.7% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at USD come from such countries as China, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

Full University of San Diego Report

18

Chapman University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking, coming in at #18. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Orange, California, and it awarded 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.

Read full report on Chapman University

19
Oxy crest
Occidental College
Los Angeles, CA

Occidental College did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking, coming in at #19. Occidental College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 487 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 6.3% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Oxy are China, United Kingdom, and Hong Kong.

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…

20

University of California - Santa Cruz landed the #20 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. This fairly large public school is located in Santa Cruz, California, and it awarded 5,426 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 9.6% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at UC Santa Cruz come from such countries as China, India, and Taiwan.

Read More…

21

With a ranking of #21, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. San Diego State University is a large public school located in San Diego, California that handed out 8,719 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 5.4% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at SDSU come from such countries as China, India, and Kuwait.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read More…

22

San Jose State University landed the #22 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. San Jose, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 7,192 students in 2020-2021.

Around 10.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as India, China, and Vietnam come to San Jose State 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.

Read full report on San Jose State University

23
Biola crest
Biola University
La Mirada, CA

Biola University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking. Biola University is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in La Mirada, California that handed out 826 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 9.3% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Biola come from such countries as South Korea, Indonesia, and China.

Read More…

24

California Institute of the Arts came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for British Students in California ranking. Located in Valencia, California, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 182 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 26.7% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at CalArts are China, South Korea, and Canada.

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.

Full California Institute of the Arts Report

25

With a ranking of #25, University of the Pacific did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for British Students in California. Pacific is a private not-for-profit institution located in Stockton, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 872 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 7.5% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to Pacific to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 87%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read More…

Best Colleges for International Students in the Far Western US Region

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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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