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2021 Best Colleges in California for Students from Malaysia

30 Colleges
$41,313 Avg Tuition & Fees*
57% Avg 4-Year Grad Rate*

When it comes to choosing a college, international students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.

After analyzing 30 schools in California, we came up with our list of those that offered the best educational experiences for Malaysian students in California. Our ranking is based on several objective factors, including the school's overall quality and the total number of international students at the school. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.

Learn more about our ranking methodology.

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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.

Top Colleges in California for Students from Malaysia

See which schools came out on top of our ranking:

1

Our analysis found University of California - Los Angeles to be the best school for Malaysian students in California in this year’s ranking. UCLA is a public institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and it awarded 10,102 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 13.8% of the total student body at the school. 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 full report on University of California - Los Angeles

2

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend University of California - San Diego. The school came in at #2 in this year’s ranking. University of California - San Diego is a large public school located in La Jolla, California that handed out 9,086 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 21.4% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at UCSD 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 full report on University of California - San Diego

3

Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Berkeley landed the #3 spot on the 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.

International students make up 16.2% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UC Berkeley are 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 - Berkeley Report

4

Out of the 30 schools in California that were part of this year’s ranking, University of California - Davis landed the #4 spot on the list. University of California - Davis is a large public school located in Davis, California that handed out 9,846 bachelor’s degrees 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.

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

5

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #5 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian students in California list. USC is a private not-for-profit institution located in Los Angeles, California. The school has a large population, and 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.

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

Read More…

6

Stanford University landed the #6 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California. 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.

Of the total number of students at the school, 23.9% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Stanford are China, India, and Canada.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Stanford University Report

7

With a ranking of #7, University of California - Irvine did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California. University of California - Irvine is a large public school located in Irvine, California that handed out 9,882 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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.

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

Read More…

8

University of California - Santa Barbara ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California list. University of California - Santa Barbara is a large public school located in Santa Barbara, California that handed out 7,001 bachelor’s degrees 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.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on University of California - Santa Barbara

9

California Institute of Technology came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. 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 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…

10

Soka University of America did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking, coming in at #10. Located in Aliso Viejo, California, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 85 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 48.4% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Soka University are Japan, Nepal, and India.

With a student-to-faculty ratio of 7 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on Soka University of America

11

University of San Francisco did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking, coming in at #11. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in San Francisco, California, and it awarded 1,682 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 12.7% are international. Students studying at USFCA come from such countries as China, India, and Indonesia.

Read More…

12

San Jose State University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California list. Located in San Jose, California, the large public school awarded 7,192 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2020-2021.

International students make up 10.2% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as India, China, and Vietnam come to San Jose State to study.

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

Full San Jose State University Report

13

Loyola Marymount University came in at #13 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. Loyola Marymount University is a fairly large private not-for-profit school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 1,856 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

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

14
SCU crest
Santa Clara University
Santa Clara, CA

Santa Clara University came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. SCU is a medium-sized private not-for-profit school situated in Santa Clara, California. It awarded 1,656 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 11.3% of the total student body at the school. 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 More…

15

Pepperdine University came in at #15 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Malibu, California, and it awarded 1,024 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 9.6% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Pepperdine are China, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia.

Full Pepperdine University Report

16

San Diego State University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking, coming in at #16. Located in San Diego, California, the large public school awarded 8,719 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students 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…

17

With a ranking of #17, California State University - Long Beach did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California. California State University - Long Beach is a large public school located in Long Beach, California that handed out 9,179 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 6.0% of the total student body at the school. Students studying at CSULB come from such countries as India, China, and Japan.

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

Read More…

18

University of San Diego ranked #18 on this year’s Best Colleges for Malaysian 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 from as far away as China, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia come to USD to study.

Full University of San Diego Report

19

University of California - Riverside came in at #19 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. This large public school is located in Riverside, California, and it awarded 6,193 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 7.7% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at UCR are China, India, and Taiwan.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 91%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year.

Read full report on University of California - Riverside

20

University of California - Santa Cruz did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking, coming in at #20. UC Santa Cruz is a public institution located in Santa Cruz, California. The school has a fairly large population, 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 from as far away as China, India, and Taiwan come to UC Santa Cruz to study.

Full University of California - Santa Cruz Report

21

California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. California Polytechnic State University - San Luis Obispo is a large public school located in San Luis Obispo, California that handed out 5,421 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Of the total number of students at the school, 2.2% are international. Students studying at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 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 More…

22

California College of the Arts came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. San Francisco, California is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 283 students in 2020-2021.

Around 41.7% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to California College of the Arts 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…

23

San Francisco State University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking, coming in at #23. San Francisco, California is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 6,627 students in 2020-2021.

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 full report on San Francisco State University

24

With a ranking of #24, California State University - Monterey Bay did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California. CSUMB is a medium-sized public school situated in Seaside, California. It awarded 1,805 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

Around 4.7% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at CSUMB are Japan, China, and Germany.

Read More…

25

California State Polytechnic University - Pomona came in at #25 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Malaysian Students in California ranking. This large public school is located in Pomona, California, and it awarded 6,526 bachelor’s degrees in 2020-2021.

International students make up 5.3% of the total student body at the school. 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.

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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