2026 Best Private Colleges in California

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

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

Showing 1–25 of 46 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 Private Colleges

California Institute of Technology

Pasadena

Acceptance rate

3.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$56,364

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#2 Best Private Colleges

Stanford University

Stanford

Acceptance rate

3.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,473

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#3 Best Private Colleges

Harvey Mudd College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

13.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$60,402

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#4 Best Private Colleges

Claremont McKenna College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

11.1%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$57,876

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#5 Best Private Colleges

University of Southern California

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

10.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$60,446

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#6 Best Private Colleges

Minerva University

San Francisco

Acceptance rate

3.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$21,630

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,556

#7 Best Private Colleges

Northeastern University Oakland

Oakland

Acceptance rate

16.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$64,990

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,957

#8 Best Private Colleges

Pomona College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

6.8%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$56,284

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#9 Best Private Colleges

Santa Clara University

Santa Clara

Acceptance rate

43.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$55,224

Avg. Cost after Aid

$48,000

#10 Best Private Colleges

University of San Diego

San Diego

Acceptance rate

46.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,120

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#11 Best Private Colleges

Scripps College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

33.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$58,224

Avg. Cost after Aid

$45,000

#12 Best Private Colleges

Pitzer College

Claremont

Acceptance rate

16.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,686

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#13 Best Private Colleges

Occidental College

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

39.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$57,830

Avg. Cost after Aid

$43,000

#14 Best Private Colleges

Loyola Marymount University

Los Angeles

Acceptance rate

40.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,310

Avg. Cost after Aid

$40,000

#15 Best Private Colleges

Pepperdine University

Malibu

Acceptance rate

49.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$59,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$41,000

#16 Best Private Colleges

Chapman University

Orange

Acceptance rate

55.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$58,250

Avg. Cost after Aid

$40,000

#17 Best Private Colleges

University of San Francisco

San Francisco

Acceptance rate

50.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,920

Avg. Cost after Aid

$40,000

#18 Best Private Colleges

ArtCenter College of Design

Pasadena

Acceptance rate

76.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$47,334

Avg. Cost after Aid

$50,000

#19 Best Private Colleges

Pacific Union College

Angwin

Acceptance rate

42.5%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$31,101

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#20 Best Private Colleges

Dominican University of California

San Rafael

Acceptance rate

95.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$47,190

Avg. Cost after Aid

$45,000

#21 Best Private Colleges

Westmont College

Santa Barbara

Acceptance rate

79.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$47,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$34,000

#22 Best Private Colleges

Point Loma Nazarene University

San Diego

Acceptance rate

81.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$38,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,000

#23 Best Private Colleges

Saint Mary's College of California

Moraga

Acceptance rate

88.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$51,568

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#24 Best Private Colleges

University of Redlands

Redlands

Acceptance rate

80.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$52,150

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#25 Best Private Colleges

Biola University

La Mirada

Acceptance rate

60.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$44,382

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

2026 Best Private Colleges in California

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