Student athletes have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Women's Soccer in California ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
Our analysis looked at 44 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for Women's Soccer athletes in California. Our ranking is based on several objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the athletic competitiveness of the school. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another. So, even if a school has a great team, it won't place well if it is also considered a low quality college or university.
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.
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Top Colleges in California for Women's Soccer athletes in California
Our analysis found Stanford University to be the best school for Women’s Soccer athletes in California in this year’s ranking. Located in Stanford, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school awarded 1,699 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
The Women’s Soccer team at Stanford brought home $2,459,334 in revenue in a single year. The great academic progress rate of 990 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 98%. Stanford not only placed well in this ranking, but it is also #2 on our overall quality list.
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The excellent sports programs at University of Southern California helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Women’s Soccer athletes in California. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large private not-for-profit school handed out 5,642 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the Women’s Soccer team at USC took home $2,239,953 in revenue. The team members aren’t slouches in the classroom either, since the team academic progress rate is an excellent 991.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, USC also is in the top 10% of our overall quality ranking.
Full University of Southern California Sports Report
Out of the 44 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Pepperdine University landed the #3 spot on the list. Pepperdine is a private not-for-profit institution located in Malibu, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 921 bachelor’s degrees in .
The Women’s Soccer team at Pepperdine brought home $1,750,390 in revenue in a single year. The great academic progress rate of 995 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 93%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Pepperdine also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
Full Pepperdine University Sports Report
The excellent sports programs at Loyola Marymount University helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Women’s Soccer athletes in California. Located in Los Angeles, California, the fairly large private not-for-profit school handed out 1,787 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the Women’s Soccer team at Loyola Marymount took home $1,585,057 in revenue. The team members aren’t slouches in the classroom either, since the team academic progress rate is an excellent 995.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, Loyola Marymount also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Los Angeles. It ranked #5 on our 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer athletes in California list. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school handed out 9,851 bachelor’s degrees in .
The Women’s Soccer team at UCLA brought home $2,024,480 in revenue in a single year. The team has a great academic progress rate of 997, signifying that team members care about their grades.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. On top of its placing in this ranking, UCLA also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full University of California - Los Angeles Sports Report
University of California - Berkeley came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. UC Berkeley is a large public school situated in Berkeley, California. It awarded 10,103 bachelor’s degrees in .
The Women’s Soccer team at UC Berkeley brought home $920,298 in revenue in a single year. With a perfect academic progress rate of 1000, the team is showing that they know how to hit the books, too.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. UC Berkeley also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
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Santa Clara University did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking, coming in at #7. Santa Clara, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,587 students in .
The Women’s Soccer team at SCU brought home $2,447,153 in revenue in a single year. The great academic progress rate of 997 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. SCU also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 10% of all schools in this category.
Full Santa Clara University Sports Report
University of San Diego landed the #8 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. University of San Diego is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school located in San Diego, California that handed out 1,688 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at USD made $1,196,483 in revenue. The great academic progress rate of 997 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. USD also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 20% of all schools in this category.
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University of San Francisco did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking, coming in at #9. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 1,626 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at USFCA made $1,585,459 in revenue. The team members aren’t slouches in the classroom either, since the team academic progress rate is an excellent 994.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%.
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University of California - Irvine did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking, coming in at #10. Irvine, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,011 students in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at UC Irvine made $1,016,264 in revenue. The academic progress rate of the team is 975.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. UC Irvine excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #11 on this year’s Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California list. Located in Santa Barbara, California, the large public school awarded 6,839 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
Speaking financially, the Women’s Soccer team at UCSB took home $738,531 in revenue. The team has a great academic progress rate of 985, signifying that team members care about their grades.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. UCSB excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 15% of all schools on our overall quality list.
Full University of California - Santa Barbara Sports Report
Pomona College did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking, coming in at #12. Pomona College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Claremont, California that handed out 418 bachelor’s degrees in .
The team at Pomona took home $221,231 in revenue and paid out $212,218 in expenses in recent times. Thus, the team actually made $9,013, which isn’t bad at all.
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. Pomona also made our overall quality list, coming in at #3.
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University of California - San Diego landed the #13 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. UCSD is a public institution located in La Jolla, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 9,422 bachelor’s degrees in .
Speaking financially, the Women’s Soccer team at UCSD took home $689,944 in revenue.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 95%. On top of its placing in this ranking, UCSD also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full University of California - San Diego Sports Report
San Diego State University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. Located in San Diego, California, the large public school awarded 8,969 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in .
The team at SDSU took home $1,286,449 in revenue and paid out $1,173,868 in expenses in recent times. That boils down to a yearly profit of $112,581 for the sports team. The great academic progress rate of 985 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
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 San Diego State University Sports Report
University of California - Davis did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking, coming in at #15. UC Davis is a large public school situated in Davis, California. It awarded 9,615 bachelor’s degrees in .
The Women’s Soccer team at UC Davis brought home $1,062,975 in revenue in a single year. The team has a great academic progress rate of 993, signifying that team members care about their grades.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UC Davis excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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San Jose State University ranked #16 on this year’s Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California list. San Jose State is a large public school situated in San Jose, California. It awarded 7,362 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at San Jose State made $1,286,616 in revenue. The great academic progress rate of 987 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.
Read full sports report on San Jose State University
California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California list. Cal Poly San Luis Obispo is located in San Luis Obispo, California and, has a large student population. In , this school awarded 4,987 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Speaking financially, the Women’s Soccer team at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo took home $942,187 in revenue. The team has a great academic progress rate of 993, signifying that team members care about their grades.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo also is in the top 20% of our overall quality ranking.
Read full sports report on California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo
University of California - Riverside landed the #18 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. This large public school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 5,880 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at UCR made $715,936 in revenue. The team members aren’t slouches in the classroom either, since the team academic progress rate is an excellent 978.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 88%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.
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California State University - Long Beach landed the #19 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,259 students in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at CSULB made $749,548 in revenue.
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 full sports report on California State University - Long Beach
With a ranking of #20, University of the Pacific did quite well on the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. Stockton, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 869 students in .
The Women’s Soccer team at Pacific brought home $1,315,653 in revenue in a single year. The team has a great academic progress rate of 983, signifying that team members care about their grades.
In addition to its great ranking here, Pacific is in the top 20% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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California State University - Fullerton came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. Located in Fullerton, California, the large public school handed out 9,717 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at Cal State Fullerton made $922,597 in revenue. The team has a great academic progress rate of 980, signifying that team members care about their grades.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%.
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Azusa Pacific University came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. Azusa, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,526 students in .
The Women’s Soccer team at Azusa Pacific made $586,799 in revenue, while incurring $577,622 in expenses. Happily, this means that the team turned a profit of $9,177.
Read full sports report on Azusa Pacific University
California Baptist University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. Cal Baptist is a private not-for-profit institution located in Riverside, California. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 1,963 bachelor’s degrees in .
The Women’s Soccer team at Cal Baptist made $1,540,202 in revenue, while incurring $1,439,976 in expenses. Thus, the team actually made $100,226, which isn’t bad at all. The team members aren’t slouches in the classroom either, since the team academic progress rate is an excellent 980.
Full California Baptist University Sports Report
California State University - Fresno did quite well in the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking, coming in at #24. Fresno State is a large public school situated in Fresno, California. It awarded 5,191 bachelor’s degrees in .
On the financial side of things, the Women’s Soccer team at Fresno State made $1,284,112 in revenue. The great academic progress rate of 987 shows that team members perform well in the classroom, too.
Full California State University - Fresno Sports Report
Occidental College landed the #25 spot on the 2023 Best Colleges for Women’s Soccer in California ranking. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Los Angeles, California, and it awarded 555 bachelor’s degrees in .
Oxy brought in $155,406 while tallying up $140,376 in expenses for its Women’s Soccer team. So, the team made money for the school, bringing in $15,030 in profit.
With a freshman retention rate of 92%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, Oxy also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 15% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
Full Occidental College Sports Report
Best Colleges for Women's Soccer 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
The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
The academic progress rate (APR) of each team was made available by the NCAA.
Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
