Top Universities In California: Ranking, Courses, Fees

If California were a country, it would have the world’s fifth-largest economy at $3.4 trillion. The per capita GDP of $86,000, the same as Switzerland, draws the best to this corner of the world. The wonderful weather and the beautiful beaches add to the already huge list of pluses.

You can find A-Z of tech businesses headquartered here—Apple to Zoom.

Bright companies also need bright minds and the universities in California keep churning out brilliant minds:

· Larry Page and Sergei Brin (founders of Google)

· Peter Thiel (co founder of PayPal)

· Jerry Yang (co founder of Yahoo!)

and hundreds more like them.

We look at the best universities in California and what makes them special.

The best Universities in California

Stanford University

Description

Founded in 1885, Stanford University is a private research university. It is located near Palo Alto, a principal city in Silicon Valley.

Companies founded by Stanford alumni are global brands—Cisco, Sun Microsystems, PayPal, YouTube, Netflix, and many more.

As of 2021, eight Fields Medalists, 85 Nobel Laureates, and 29 Turing Award winners are associated with Stanford University (as faculty or alumni). No wonder, everyone considers it the best university in California.

Admissions Website	https://admission.stanford.edu/
QS World University Rankings 2022	3
Acceptance Rate	5%
Courses	The university offers Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, and Ph.D. in fields as diverse as law, medicine, engineering, business, and education.
Student Population	Currently, there are 6,400 undergraduates and 9,600 postgraduates and research scholars studying at Stanford.
Faculty	There are 4,500 full-time teachers and 600 part-timers. Teacher to student ratio stands at 1:4.
Expenses	Estimated yearly expenditures for an undergraduate freshman are $56,000 for tuition and $18,000 for room and board. Total on-campus expenses are estimated at $79,000 annually. That sounds expensive but Stanford is a top school. 551658937SelectRight has experts who can help you every step of the way on your journey to Stanford.
Financial Aid	Stanford University offers a large amount of aid. Currently, 70% of the students are receiving some type of aid. The average aid received by undergraduate students is $53,000.

University of California, Santa Barbara

Description

The University of California, Santa Barbara, is situated in an idyllic place next to the Pacific Ocean. It is a ten-minute walk from the campus to the shore.

The surrounding countryside is well known for California wine production.

Known among some as a party school (well, even Harvard has that tag) it has three undergraduate colleges and two postgraduate schools that offer 200 different programs.

The current faculty comprises six Nobel Laureates. In Physics and Material Sciences, the university ranks as one of the topmost among the likes of MIT and Stanford. The engineering departments are consistently ranked in the top 25 in the nation.

The university has 10 national research centers. These support students’ grasp of interdisciplinary studies.

Admissions Website	https://admissions.sa.ucsb.edu/
QS World University Rankings 2022	146
Acceptance Rate	37%
Courses	The University of California, Santa Barbara, offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral degrees in science, engineering, and creative studies. You can also study humanities and arts subjects.
Student Population	There are 26,000 students, of whom 23,000 are undergraduates.
Faculty	The university employs 1,500 full-time professors and 250 part-timers. The teacher-student ratio is 1:18.
Expenses	An average student paid $44,000 for the first-year undergraduate program. The cost of living on campus was $17,000. The total expense was about $67,000.
Financial Aid	About 60% of the students receive aid of some sort. The average benefit is $18,000.

California Institute of Technology

Description

Known simply as Caltech, the private research university is located at Pasadena.

It does not offer degrees in law, arts and medicine, unlike most other large universities in California, but focuses on science and engineering.

Caltech manages and operates NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab, a testament to its prowess in applied sciences.

It comes as no surprise that Caltech was the setting for sitcom The Big Bang Theory.

76 Nobel Laureates have been associated with the institute. No less important are four Field Medalists and six Turing Award winners.

A study in 2015 showed Caltech as #1 among all US universities in the number of students who go on to earn a PhD. Without any doubt, it has a formidable reputation globally as a top tier research institute and one of the greatest among universities in California.

Admissions Website	https://www.admissions.caltech.edu/apply
QS World University Rankings 2022	6
Acceptance Rate	7%
Courses	Caltech offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral courses in science and technology.
Student Population	There are 2,200 students and of them less than half are undergraduates.
Faculty	There are almost 1000 full time and only 36 part-time tutors. The teacher to student ratio of 1:3 is unparalleled. Get advice from SelectRight about how you can gain admission to Caltech’s famed programs.
Expenses	Tuition fees for a new student are approximately $58,000. The cost of room and board is another$17,000. The total expense is about $80,000 annually.
Financial Aid	74% of the students receive financial aid. The average grant received is $42,000.

University of California, San Diego

Description

The University of California, San Diego, was established in 1960. UCSD, as it is known, has an excellent reputation for science and engineering. It might not be at the stratospheric levels of Stanford and Caltech but holds its own in the upper double digits.

Qualcomm, known as the world’s most advanced makers of telecom equipment and chipsets, is headquartered here. Qualcomm Institute, also known as California Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology, is managed by UCSD.

UCSD is known for research in electronics, telecom, molecular biology, and neuroscience. UCSD is closely associated with and collaborates with the Salk Institute and Scripps Research Institute located in the vicinity.

Besides, it has a school of management and global policy and offers degrees in arts.

Admissions Website	https://admissions.ucsd.edu/index.html
QS World University Rankings 2022	48
Acceptance Rate	37%
Courses	The university offers Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Ph.D. degrees in science, technology, management, arts, and humanities.
Student Population	There are 40,000 students, of whom 32,000 are undergraduates.
Faculty	The university has 4,200 full-timers on its roster and another 900 part-time tutors. The teacher-student ratio is at 1:19.
Expenses	It is more affordable compared to other universities. The cost of tuition stands at $45,000 and room and board at $16,000. The total outgo is around $65,000 per year.
Financial Aid	60% of the students receive some type of financial aid, with the average being $19,000.