2021 Best Colleges in the United States for Students from Thailand
It's not easy to decide which college to attend when there so many options available for international students. College Factual has developed its Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking as one item you can use to help make this decision.
We analyzed 249 colleges and universities across the United States to determine which were the best for Thai students. Our ranking methodology focuses a number of different objective factors - such as the overall quality of the school, number of total international students at the school, and the percentage of international students on campus - to make this determination.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
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Top Colleges in the U.S. for Students from Thailand
See which schools came out on top of our ranking:
Columbia University in the City of New York tops this year’s ranking as the best school for Thai students. This large private not-for-profit school is located in New York, New York, and it awarded 2,702 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 36.3% are international. Students studying at Columbia 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 97%. On top of its placing in this ranking, Columbia also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at Northeastern University helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for Thai students. Northeastern is located in Boston, Massachusetts and, has a large student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 4,127 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Of the total number of students at the school, 32.5% are international. Students studying at Northeastern come from such countries as China, India, and Taiwan.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. In addition to its great ranking here, Northeastern is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend University of Southern California. It ranked #3 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Thai students list. University of Southern California is a large private not-for-profit school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 5,337 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 23.9% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at USC are 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. On top of its placing in this ranking, USC also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Boston University. It ranked #4 on our 2021 Best Colleges for Thai students list. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Boston, Massachusetts, and it awarded 4,780 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 24.8% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Boston U to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 93%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, Boston U also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend New York University. The school came in at #5 in this year’s ranking. NYU is a large private not-for-profit school situated in New York, New York. It awarded 6,658 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
International students make up 27.6% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to NYU 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. NYU 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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Northwestern University landed the #6 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. Northwestern is a private not-for-profit institution located in Evanston, Illinois. The school has a large population, and it awarded 2,770 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Around 17.1% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Northwestern come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
With a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Northwestern excels when it comes to quality. It’s ranked in the top 1% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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University of California - Berkeley ranked #7 on this year’s Best Colleges for Thai Students list. UC Berkeley is located in Berkeley, California and, has a large student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 9,627 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Of the total number of students at the school, 17.0% are international. Students studying at UC Berkeley come from such countries as China, South Korea, and India.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. In addition to its great ranking here, UC Berkeley is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Cornell University landed the #8 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. Cornell is a large private not-for-profit school situated in Ithaca, New York. It awarded 4,145 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Around 22.6% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at Cornell come from such countries as China, India, and Canada.
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, Cornell also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 1% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Carnegie Mellon University landed the #9 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and it awarded 1,848 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
International students make up 41.0% of the total student body at the school. The top three countries sending students to study at Carnegie Mellon are China, India, and South Korea.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Carnegie Mellon also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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University of Pennsylvania did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking, coming in at #10. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania is the setting for this large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 3,632 students in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 20.6% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to UPenn to study.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, UPenn also is in the top 1% of our overall quality ranking.
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With a ranking of #11, University of Washington - Seattle Campus did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. University of Washington - Seattle Campus is a large public school located in Seattle, Washington that handed out 9,269 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 16.5% are international. Students studying at UW Seattle 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. UW Seattle 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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Babson College came in at #12 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking. Located in Wellesley, Massachusetts, the small private not-for-profit school awarded 548 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
Around 31.2% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as India, China, and Thailand come to Babson College to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Babson College also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools in this category.
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Stanford University ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges for Thai Students list. Stanford is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Stanford, California. It awarded 1,892 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 24.6% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Stanford are China, India, and Canada.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Stanford also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 1% of all schools in this category.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology came in at #14 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking. Cambridge, Massachusetts is the setting for this fairly large institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,333 students in 2018-2019.
Around 29.5% of the total student population at the school is international. Students studying at MIT 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. MIT did well in our overall quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our overall quality list.
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University of Michigan - Ann Arbor ranked #15 on this year’s Best Colleges for Thai Students list. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor is a large public school located in Ann Arbor, Michigan that handed out 7,815 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
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 U-M to study.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 97%. In addition to its great ranking here, U-M is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Harvard University did quite well in the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking, coming in at #16. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the large private not-for-profit school awarded 2,902 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 23.0% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Harvard are China, Canada, and India.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 98%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. In addition to its Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Harvard is ranked #3 for overall quality in the United States.
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University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for Thai Students list. UIUC is located in Champaign, Illinois and, has a large student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 8,983 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergraduates.
Of the total number of students at the school, 22.3% are international. Students studying at UIUC come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 92%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. UIUC 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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University of California - Los Angeles landed the #18 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. University of California - Los Angeles is a large public school located in Los Angeles, California that handed out 9,069 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Around 15.8% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, South Korea, and India come to UCLA to study.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 97%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. In addition to its great ranking here, UCLA is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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University of California - San Diego ranked #19 on this year’s Best Colleges for Thai Students list. Located in La Jolla, California, the large public school awarded 8,037 diplomas to qualified bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
International students make up 23.2% 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%. In addition to its great ranking here, UCSD is in the top 10% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Duke University ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges for Thai Students list. Duke is a private not-for-profit institution located in Durham, North Carolina. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 2,303 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 21.6% are international. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Duke to study.
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. Duke also made our overall quality list, coming in at #2.
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University of Wisconsin - Madison came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking. UW - Madison is a large public school situated in Madison, Wisconsin. It awarded 8,915 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 14.5% are international. Students studying at UW - Madison come from such countries as China, India, and South Korea.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 95%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. In addition to its great ranking here, UW - Madison is in the top 5% of all schools on our overall quality list.
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Illinois Institute of Technology landed the #22 spot on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. This medium-sized private not-for-profit school is located in Chicago, Illinois, and it awarded 600 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Around 41.8% of the total student population at the school is international. Students from as far away as China, India, and Spain come to Illinois Tech to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 90%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. As a testament to the quality of education it offers, Illinois Tech also is in the top 10% of our overall quality ranking.
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With a ranking of #23, University of Chicago did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. UChicago is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Chicago, Illinois. It awarded 2,024 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Around 25.9% of the total student population at the school is international. The top three countries sending students to study at UChicago are China, India, and South Korea.
With a freshman retention rate of 99%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, UChicago also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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Johns Hopkins University came in at #24 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking. This large private not-for-profit school is located in Baltimore, Maryland, and it awarded 1,747 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
International students make up 20.0% of the total student body at the school. Students from as far away as China, India, and South Korea come to Johns Hopkins to study.
With a freshman retention rate of 97%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. On top of its placing in this ranking, Johns Hopkins also did well on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 5% of all schools reviewed in this analysis.
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With a ranking of #25, Yale University did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for Thai Students. This fairly large private not-for-profit school is located in New Haven, Connecticut, and it awarded 1,664 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
Of the total number of students at the school, 20.7% are international. The top three countries sending students to study at Yale are China, Canada, and India.
Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 6 to 1, those pursuing a bachelor’s degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Yale also claimed a spot on our overall quality list. It’s in the top 1% of all schools in this category.
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Not only did these schools make the top 38 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
Narrow Colleges by Region
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our Best Colleges for Thai Students ranking:
| Rank | College | Location |
|---|---|---|
| 39 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | Worcester, MA |
| 40 | University of Rochester | Rochester, NY |
| 41 | Emory University | Atlanta, GA |
| 42 | Rhode Island School of Design | Providence, RI |
| 43 | University of Florida | Gainesville, FL |
| 44 | Pennsylvania State University - University Park | University Park, PA |
| 45 | University of Minnesota - Twin Cities | Minneapolis, MN |
| 46 | Wesleyan University | Middletown, CT |
| 47 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA |
| 48 | University of Virginia - Main Campus | Charlottesville, VA |
| 49 | Tufts University | Medford, MA |
| 50 | Washington University in St Louis | Saint Louis, MO |
More Nationwide Rankings
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.
- 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%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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