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2021 Best Colleges in California for Students from India

56 Colleges
$45,912 Avg Tuition & Fees*
65% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

International students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. At College Factual, we're committed to helping you make that decision by providing information such as that found in our Best Colleges for Indian Students in California ranking.

Our analysis looked at 56 schools in California to determine which ones were the best for Indian students in California. 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.

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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.

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Top Colleges in California for Students from India

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1

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

Of the total number of students at the school, 22.5% are international. 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.

Read full report on University of Southern California

2

Out of the 56 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - San Diego landed the #2 spot on the list. Located in La Jolla, California, the large public school handed out 9,086 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 21.4% are international. Students studying at UCSD come from such countries as 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 full report on University of California - San Diego

3

Out of the 56 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 10,523 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

International students make up 16.2% of the total student body at the school. 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

4

A rank of #4 on our list means University of California - Los Angeles is a great place for Indian students in California working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Los Angeles, California, the large public school handed out 10,102 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 13.8% are international. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to UCLA to study.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read full report on University of California - Los Angeles

5

Out of the 56 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, Stanford University landed the #5 spot on the list. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Stanford, California, and it awarded 1,511 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 23.9% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Stanford are China, India, and Canada.

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

Read full report on Stanford University

6

University of California - Irvine landed the #6 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian 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.

Around 18.4% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at UC Irvine 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%.

Read More…

7
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University landed the #7 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. 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 1,656 students in 2020-2021.

Around 11.3% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at SCU come from such countries as 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.

Read full report on Santa Clara University

8

University of California - Davis ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Indian Students in California list. UC Davis is located in Davis, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 9,846 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Of the total number of students at the school, 17.5% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Davis are 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 University of California - Davis

9

With a ranking of #9, San Jose State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. San Jose State is located in San Jose, California and, has a large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 7,192 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Of the total number of students at the school, 10.2% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at San Jose State are India, China, and Vietnam.

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

Read full report on San Jose State University

10

California Institute of Technology landed the #10 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. Located in Pasadena, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 227 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 30.5% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Canada come to Caltech to study.

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…

11

University of California - Santa Barbara landed the #11 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. UCSB is a public institution located in Santa Barbara, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 7,001 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 14.9% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at UCSB 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 full report on University of California - Santa Barbara

12

University of San Francisco did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California ranking, coming in at #12. University of San Francisco is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in San Francisco, California that handed out 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 More…

13

With a ranking of #13, San Diego State University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. Located in San Diego, California, the large public school handed out 8,719 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 5.4% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Kuwait come to SDSU 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.

Read More…

14

University of California - Riverside ranked #14 on this year’s Best Colleges for Indian Students in California list. Located in Riverside, California, the large public school handed out 6,193 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 7.7% are international. Students studying at UCR come from such countries as China, India, and Taiwan.

Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%.

Read full report on University of California - Riverside

15

Claremont McKenna College landed the #15 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. 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. The top three countries sending students to study at Claremont McKenna are China, India, and Canada.

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 full report on Claremont McKenna College

16

California State University - Fullerton landed the #16 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. Located in Fullerton, California, the large public school handed out 10,010 bachelor’s degrees 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.

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

Read full report on California State University - Fullerton

17

California State University - Long Beach ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for Indian Students in California list. Long Beach, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 9,179 students 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.

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

Full California State University - Long Beach Report

18

University of California - Santa Cruz came in at #18 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Indian Students in California ranking. UC Santa Cruz is located in Santa Cruz, California and, has a fairly large student population. In 2020-2021, this school awarded 5,426 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.

Around 9.6% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Taiwan come to UC Santa Cruz to study.

Read full report on University of California - Santa Cruz

19

Pepperdine University ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges for Indian Students in California list. Malibu, California is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,024 students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 9.6% are international. Students studying at Pepperdine come from such countries as China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.

Read More…

20

Loyola Marymount University came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Indian Students in California ranking. 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.

International students make up 9.5% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at Loyola Marymount come from such countries as Indonesia, China, and Saudi Arabia.

Full Loyola Marymount University Report

21
Pomona crest
Pomona College
Claremont, CA

Pomona College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Indian 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.

Read full report on Pomona College

22

Chapman University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California ranking, coming in at #22. Located in Orange, California, the medium-sized private not-for-profit school handed out 1,944 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 4.6% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Chapman are China, Saudi Arabia, and India.

Read More…

23

University of San Diego came in at #23 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Indian Students in California ranking. San Diego, California is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,672 students 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.

Read full report on University of San Diego

24
Harvey Mudd College crest
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA

Harvey Mudd College landed the #24 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. Located in Claremont, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 197 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 7.3% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Harvey Mudd College to study.

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.

Full Harvey Mudd College Report

25

Soka University of America landed the #25 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Indian Students in California. Located in Aliso Viejo, California, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 85 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 48.4% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as Japan, Nepal, and India come to Soka University 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.

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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