2009 Top-Ranked Colleges and Universities in California

The information below is based on U.S. News College Rankings, which classifies colleges into categories (in order to compare schools with similar goals) and then ranks them into four tiers.  We present here the top-ranked California colleges and universities from the four major categories.

Please remember that rankings are only one tool to help you select and compare schools. They are, by their very nature, somewhat subjective, and excellent schools will be found in all four "tiers" of the rankings. We hope that this list will encourage you to investigate some fine California colleges and universities you may not have been aware of. Students should gather information on colleges in many ways:  talking to parents, high school teachers, and counselors; reading college catalogs, viewbooks, and Web sites; scheduling appointments with college representatives; and visiting campuses to form first-hand impressions.  And remember, a private liberal arts college may be far cheaper than a public university once financial assistance and merit scholarships are factored in!  Because private schools work to increase their endowment funds every year, they often have far more money available to help their students than the public universities, which depend mainly on government subsidies. 

How to Use This Guide

The table lists top-ranked colleges and universities in California.  They are grouped into four major divisions, according to their headings.

Name & Address / Website  ||  2008-09 Tuition & Fees  ||  2007 Total Enrollment

Each listing includes a link to the college’s website, information on tuition, and number of students enrolled.  Think about the size of college you would like to attend.  Will you be lost in a campus with 10,000 or more students or will you be able to handle all the many bureaucratic problems of living in such a large community?  Would you prefer a smaller campus where you can meet and get to know most of the students in your graduating class? 

Classes with Under 20 Students (2007)  ||  Classes with 50 or More Students (2007)

The percentages of classes over 50 and under 20 students will help you get a feel for how many large lecture-hall classes you may be attending and how many smaller seminar-type classes will be on your schedule. 

Fall 2007 Acceptance Rate

The acceptance rate suggests how likely you are to be accepted if you meet the qualification standards.  Schools with 20% or lower acceptance rates are very well-known and so many students apply that only a small percentage can be accepted.  Other excellent schools are not as well known and have much higher acceptance rates of qualified students.

SAT/ACT 25th-75^th Percentile (2007)  || Freshmen in Top 10% of High School Class

Think clearly about your own strengths and weaknesses as a student.  Do you attend high school in a suburban area where many or most parents are college educated?  Have you taken a full load of college-preparatory classes for four years?  What is your high school class rank (look on your report card or transcript for “class rank”)?  Are you in the top 5% of your high school class?  Top 15%?  Somewhere in the middle?  Below the 50% mark?  What are your actual or likely SAT/ACT scores?  These numbers show how well you handle school assignments and master subject material. 

The National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges listed below show percentages of entering freshmen in the top 10% of their high school class.  Master’s Universities and Baccalaureate Colleges show percentages in the top 25% of the high school class.  If a college generally accepts 90% students in the top 10% and you’re somewhere in the middle, most of the students in the college classes will have far better study skills than yours and you may have a very hard time keeping up with class expectations. 

The SAT/ACT 25th-75th percentile numbers help evaluate your reading, writing, and analysis skills.  If the school has 1200-1420 numbers, it means that 25% of the students scored higher than 1420 on their SAT, 25% of the students scored lower than 1200, and half of them scored between.  Where will you stand?  In order to compete successfully in reading, discussing, writing, and research, you need skills that are similar to the students around you, not 300 or more points below. 

Many schools prefer to admit a widely diverse student body and look for other indicators of personal leadership and academic ability than just grade-point average.  You can find these schools by looking for lower numbers in these two columns.

Which school is the best?  That depends on you, your goals, your abilities, and your needs.  Every college and university listed below is accredited and has a top-notch reputation.  As long as you attend a good school, future employers, graduate schools, etc., will care far more about your accomplishments than about the schools "number" on the rankings.  A CSU Chico graduate with a strong transcript and excellent teacher recommendations will easily breeze right by a Stanford or Berkeley graduate with a mediocre transcript and so-so recommendations. 

Best advice:  Find the school that’s right for YOU!

National Universities offer a full range of undergraduate majors, master’s, and doctoral degrees.  These colleges are also committed to producing groundbreaking research.

Liberal Arts Colleges emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half of their degrees in the liberal arts fields of study.

Master’s Universities offer a full range of undergraduate programs and some master’s programs but few doctoral programs.

Baccalaureate Colleges focus on undergraduate education but grant fewer than half their degrees in liberal arts disciplines.