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2021 Best Colleges in California for Students from Nigeria

28 Colleges
$39,376 Avg Tuition & Fees*
50% 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 Nigerian Students in California ranking.

After analyzing 28 schools in California, we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for Nigerian 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.

One Size Does Not Fit All

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We've developed a number of other tools and rankings to help you make your college decision. Start by filtering this list by location and then explore our other rankings that feature schools great for different groups of students such as online students or returnings adults.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Top Colleges in California for Students from Nigeria

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1

Our analysis found University of Southern California to be the best school for Nigerian students in California in this year’s ranking. USC is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Los Angeles, California. It awarded 5,745 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 22.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to USC to study.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 9 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 University of Southern California

2

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of California - Berkeley. It ranked #2 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian students in California list. Berkeley, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 10,523 students 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.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Berkeley Report

3

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 Nigerian students in California. Stanford University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Stanford, California that handed out 1,511 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 23.9% are international. Students studying at Stanford come from such countries as China, India, and Canada.

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 More…

4

Out of the 28 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Los Angeles landed the #4 spot on the list. UCLA is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10,102 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

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.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full University of California - Los Angeles Report

5
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Santa Clara University. It ranked #5 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian students in California list. Located in Santa Clara, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1,656 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 11.3% are international. Students from as far away as India, China, and Taiwan come to SCU to study.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%.

Read More…

6

University of California - Davis ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California list. Located in Davis, California, the large public school awarded 9,846 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 17.5% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Davis are China, India, and South Korea.

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

Read full report on University of California - Davis

7

University of California - San Diego did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California ranking, coming in at #7. UCSD is a large public school situated in La Jolla, California. It awarded 9,086 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 21.4% are 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%.

Read full report on University of California - San Diego

8

University of San Francisco ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California list. 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 studying at USFCA come from such countries as China, India, and Indonesia.

Full University of San Francisco Report

9

Loyola Marymount University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California list. Loyola Marymount is located in Los Angeles, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,856 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

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.

Read More…

10

University of the Pacific ranked #10 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California list. 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. The top three countries sending students to study at Pacific are China, South Korea, and India.

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 report on University of the Pacific

11

University of California - Irvine landed the #11 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. Located in Irvine, California, the large public school awarded 9,882 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Around 18.4% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UC Irvine to study.

With a freshman retention rate of 94%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Read full report on University of California - Irvine

12

Chapman University landed the #12 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. Chapman is located in Orange, California and, has a medium-sized student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 1,944 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

International students make up 4.6% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Chapman come from such countries as China, Saudi Arabia, and India.

Full Chapman University Report

13

California State University - Long Beach came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California ranking. This large public school is located in Long Beach, California, and it awarded 9,179 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 6.0% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as India, China, and Japan come to CSULB to study.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Full California State University - Long Beach Report

14

With a ranking of #14, University of Redlands did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Redlands, California, and it awarded 811 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 2.1% are international. Students studying at University of Redlands come from such countries as China, Saudi Arabia, and India.

Read More…

15
Biola crest
Biola University
La Mirada, CA

Biola University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California ranking, coming in at #15. Biola is a private not-for-profit institution located in La Mirada, California. The school has a medium-sized population, and it awarded 826 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 9.3% are international. Students from as far away as South Korea, Indonesia, and China come to Biola to study.

Full Biola University Report

16

San Jose State University landed the #16 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. Located in San Jose, California, the large public school handed out 7,192 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 10.2% are international. Students from as far away as India, China, and Vietnam come to San Jose State to study.

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

Read More…

17

University of La Verne landed the #17 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. Located in La Verne, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school awarded 1,220 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Around 5.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, Taiwan, and Qatar come to ULV to study.

Read More…

18

With a ranking of #18, Azusa Pacific University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. Located in Azusa, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1,501 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 3.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Azusa Pacific come from such countries as China, South Korea, and Taiwan.

Read More…

19

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona landed the #19 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. This large public school is located in Pomona, California, and it awarded 6,526 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 5.3% are international. Students studying at Cal Poly Pomona come from such countries as China, Kuwait, and South Korea.

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

Full California State Polytechnic University - Pomona Report

20

California State University - Fullerton ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California list. Fullerton, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 10,010 students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 5.9% are international. Students studying at Cal State Fullerton come from such countries as India, China, and Kuwait.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%.

Read full report on California State University - Fullerton

21

California State University - Monterey Bay ranked #21 on this year’s Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California list. Seaside, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,805 students in 2020-2021.

Around 4.7% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as Japan, China, and Germany come to CSUMB to study.

Read full report on California State University - Monterey Bay

22

California State University - Northridge did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California ranking, coming in at #22. CSUN is located in Northridge, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9,572 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

International students make up 6.2% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at CSUN come from such countries as Kuwait, China, and India.

Read More…

23

California Baptist University came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California ranking. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 2,008 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 2.8% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Rwanda come to Cal Baptist to study.

Full California Baptist University Report

24

San Francisco State University landed the #24 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. SFSU is located in San Francisco, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 6,627 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 6.8% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Japan come to SFSU to study.

Read More…

25

California State University - East Bay landed the #25 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Nigerian Students in California. Cal State East Bay is located in Hayward, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 4,189 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

International students make up 7.2% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Cal State East Bay come from such countries as China, India, and Saudi Arabia.

Full California State University - East Bay Report

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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