2026 Best Colleges in California

Name: 2026 Best Colleges in California (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

78 U.S. schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Colleges in California ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 78 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Colleges in California

Stanford University

Stanford

Acceptance rate

3.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,473

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#2 Best Colleges in California

Minerva University

San Francisco

Acceptance rate

3.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$21,630

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,556

#3 Best Colleges in California

University of California - San Diego

La Jolla

Acceptance rate

26.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#4 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Berkeley

Berkeley

Acceptance rate

11.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#5 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Los Angeles

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

9.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#6 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Irvine

Irvine

Acceptance rate

28.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$19,268

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#7 Best Colleges in California

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

Acceptance rate

3.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$56,364

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#8 Best Colleges in California

California Polytechnic State University--San Luis Obispo

San Luis Obispo

Acceptance rate

31.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$21,000

#9 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Davis

Davis

Acceptance rate

41.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#10 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Santa Barbara

Santa Barbara

Acceptance rate

33.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#11 Best Colleges in California

Pomona College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

6.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$56,284

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#12 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Riverside

Riverside

Acceptance rate

76.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#13 Best Colleges in California

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

11.1%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$57,876

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#14 Best Colleges in California

California State Polytechnic University--Pomona

Pomona

Acceptance rate

73.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#15 Best Colleges in California

Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

13.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$60,402

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#16 Best Colleges in California

San Diego State University-Imperial Valley Campus

Calexico

Acceptance rate

44.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$8,622

Avg. Cost after Aid

$8,622

#17 Best Colleges in California

California State University--Long Beach

Long Beach

Acceptance rate

46.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$9,000

#18 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz

Acceptance rate

65.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#19 Best Colleges in California

San Jose State University

San Jose

Acceptance rate

80.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,874

#20 Best Colleges in California

University of Southern California

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

10.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,446

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#21 Best Colleges in California

California State University--Fullerton

Fullerton

Acceptance rate

90.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$5,742

Avg. Cost after Aid

$5,000

#22 Best Colleges in California

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

Acceptance rate

43.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,224

Avg. Cost after Aid

$48,000

#23 Best Colleges in California

University of California - Merced

Merced

Acceptance rate

91.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$11,442

Avg. Cost after Aid

$12,000

#24 Best Colleges in California

University of San Diego

San Diego

Acceptance rate

46.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,120

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#25 Best Colleges in California

Pitzer College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

16.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,686

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

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