Resources › For Students and Parents Top California Colleges and Universities These 12 Schools Typically Top the College Rankings for California Share Flipboard Email Print For Students and Parents College Admissions College Rankings College Admissions Process College Profiles Choosing A College Application Tips Essay Samples & Tips Testing Graphs College Financial Aid Advanced Placement Homework Help Private School Test Prep College Life Graduate School Business School Law School Distance Learning View More By Allen Grove Allen Grove Facebook Twitter College Admissions Expert Ph.D., English, University of Pennsylvania M.A., English, University of Pennsylvania B.S., Materials Science & Engineering and Literature, MIT Dr. Allen Grove is an Alfred University English professor and a college admissions expert with over 20 years of experience helping students transition to college. Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on August 21, 2018 California has some of the best colleges and universities in the country. The University of California system has many strengths, and California has both strong liberal arts colleges and private research universities. The 12 top colleges listed below vary so much in size and type of school, they are simply listed alphabetically. Schools were selected based on factors such as retention rates, four- and six-year graduation rates, overall value, and academic strengths. Compare Top California Colleges: SAT Scores | ACT Scores Compare University of California Schools: SAT Scores | ACT Scores Compare Cal State Schools: SAT Scores | ACT Scores Berkeley (University of California at Berkeley) The University of California Berkeley. Charlie Nguyen / Flickr Location: Berkeley, California Enrollment: 40,154 (29,310 undergraduates) Type of Institution: public research university Distinctions: one of the nine undergraduate University of California schools; member of the Association of American Universities for strong research programs; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; member of the NCAA Division I Pacific 10 Conference; vibrant cultural environment in the San Francisco Bay area For more information and admissions data, visit the Berkeley profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Berkeley Caltech (California Institute of Technology) Beckman Institute at Caltech. smerikal / Flickr Location: Pasadena, California Enrollment: 2,240 (979 undergraduates) Type of Institution: private engineering university Distinctions: one of the top engineering schools; amazing 3 to 1 student/faculty ratio; member of the Association of American Universities for strong research programs For more information and admissions data, visit the Caltech profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Caltech Claremont McKenna College The Kravis Center at Claremont McKenna College. Victoire Chalupy / Wikimedia Commons Location: Claremont, California Enrollment: 1,347 (all undergraduates) Type of Institution: private liberal arts college Distinctions: high-ranking liberal arts college; one of the most selective colleges in the country; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strong liberal arts and sciences; cross-registration with the other Claremont Colleges; 8 to 1 student/faculty ratio For more information and admissions data, visit the Claremont McKenna profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Claremont McKenna Harvey Mudd College Entrance to Harvey Mudd College. Imagine / Wikimedia Commons Location: Claremont, California Enrollment: 842 (all undergraduate) Type of Institution: undergraduate engineering college Distinctions: one of the top undergraduate engineering colleges; engineering curriculum grounded in the liberal arts; member of the Claremont Colleges with Scripps College, Pitzer College, Claremont McKenna College, and Pomona College For more information and admissions data, visit the Harvey Mudd profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Harvey Mudd Occidental College Occidental College Student Center. Geographer / Wikimedia Commons Location: Los Angeles, California Enrollment: 1,969 (all undergraduates) Type of Institution: private liberal arts college Distinctions: chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; diverse student body; blend of urban and suburban advantages -- located just eight miles from downtown Los Angeles For more information and admissions data, visit the Occidental College profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Occidental Pepperdine University Center for Communication and Business at Pepperdine University. Matt McGee / Flickr Location: Malibu, California Enrollment: 7,826 (3,542 undergraduates) Type of Institution: private research university Distinctions: 830-acre campus overlooks the Pacific Ocean in Malibu; strong programs in business and communications; member of the NCAA Division I West Coast Conference; affiliated with the Churches of Christ For more information and admissions data, visit the Pepperdine University profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Pepperdine Pomona College Pomona College. The Consortium / Flickr Location: Claremont, California Enrollment: 1,563 (all undergraduate) Type of Institution: private liberal arts college Distinctions: one of the 10 top liberal arts colleges in the country; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa; member of the Claremont Colleges; 7 to 1 student/faculty ratio; average class size of 14 For more information and admissions data, visit the Pomona College profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Pomona Scripps College Scripps College. Lure Photography / Wikimedia Commons Location: Claremont, California Enrollment: 1,057 (1,039 undergrads) Type of Institution: private women's liberal arts college Distinctions: one of the top women's colleges in the country; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for its strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; member of the Claremont Colleges For more information and admissions data, visit the Scripps College profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Scripps Stanford University Stanford University. Daniel Hartwig / Flickr Location: Stanford, California Enrollment: 17,184 (7,034 undergraduates) Type of Institution: private research university Distinctions: chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; membership in the Association of American Universities for research strengths; one of the top 10 universities in the country; member of the NCAA Division I Pacific 10 Conference For more information and admissions data, visit the Stanford University profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for Stanford UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) Royce Hall at UCLA. Photo Credit: Marisa Benjamin Location: Los Angeles, California Enrollment: 43,548 (30,873 undergraduates) Type of Institution: public research university Distinctions: chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; membership in the Association of American Universities for research strengths; part of the University of California system; one of the top-ranked public universities in the country; member of the NCAA Division I Pacific 10 Conference Explore the Campus: UCLA photo tour For more information and admissions data, visit the UCLA profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for UCLA UCSD (University of California at San Diego) Geisel Library at UCSD (click photo to enlarge). Marisa Benjamin Location: San Diego, California Enrollment: 34,979 (28,127 undergraduates) Type of Institution: public research university Distinctions: chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; membership in the Association of American Universities for research strengths; part of the University of California system; one of the top-ranked public universities in the country; one of the top-ranked engineering schools For more information and admissions data, visit the UCSD profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for UCSD USC (University of Southern California) USC Doheny Memorial Library. Marisa Benjamin Location: Los Angeles, California Enrollment: 43,871 (18,794 undergraduates) Type of Institution: private research university Distinctions: member of the Association of American Universities for its research strengths; chapter of Phi Beta Kappa for strengths in the liberal arts and sciences; over 130 majors to choose from; member of the NCAA Division I Pac 12 Conference For more information and admissions data, visit the USC profile GPA, SAT and ACT graph for USC Calculate Your Chances Se e if you have the grades and test scores you need to get into one of these top California schools with this free tool from Cappex. Explore More Top West Coast Colleges CC BY SA 3.0/US_Locator_Blank.svg/Wikimedia Commons If you want to attend college on the West Coast, expand your search beyond California. Check out these 30 top West Coast colleges and universities. Top Colleges in the United States CC0/Public Domain Expand your college search even further by exploring these top colleges and universities across the United States: Private Universities | Public Universities | Liberal Arts Colleges | Engineering | Business | Women's | Most Selective Public Universities in California California State University Chico. Alan Levine / Flickr Many of these schools did not make the list above, but students interested in attending college in California should check out the nine schools offering undergraduate degrees in the University of California System, and the 23 universities in the California State University System. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Grove, Allen. "Top California Colleges and Universities." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/top-california-colleges-and-universities-788300. Grove, Allen. (2023, April 5). Top California Colleges and Universities. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/top-california-colleges-and-universities-788300 Grove, Allen. "Top California Colleges and Universities." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/top-california-colleges-and-universities-788300 (accessed June 7, 2023). copy citation