With the first “early decision” college-application deadline looming on Nov. 1 and colleges adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic, the personal-finance website WalletHub today released its 2021’s Best College & University Rankings report, as well as accompanying videos, in addition to separate rankings for collegesand for universities.

To help college-bound seniors choose the best schools within their states, WalletHub compared over 1,000 higher-education institutions in the U.S. based on 30 key measures grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost & Financing and Career Outcomes. The data set ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.

Top 10 Colleges & Universities in California
 

1. California Institute of Technology6. University of California-Los Angeles

2. Stanford University7. Harvey Mudd College

3. University of California-Berkeley8. University of Southern California

4. Pomona College9. University of California-Irvine

5. Claremont McKenna College10. University of California-San Diego


With that in mind, here’s a closer look at some of the top schools and how each performed in certain metrics:
 
School Snapshot: California Institute of Technology (1 = Best; 34 = Average; 68 = Worst):

  • 2nd – Admission Rate
  • 62nd – Net Cost
  • 1st – Student-Faculty Ratio
  • 62nd – On-Campus Crime
  • 22nd – Gender & Racial Diversity
  • 1st – Graduation Rate
  • 3rd – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: Stanford University (1 = Best; 34 = Average; 68 = Worst):

  • 1st – Admission Rate
  • 56th – Net Cost
  • 2nd – Student-Faculty Ratio
  • 23rd – On-Campus Crime
  • 2nd – Gender & Racial Diversity
  • 1st – Graduation Rate
  • 1st – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: University of California-Berkeley (1 = Best; 34 = Average; 68 = Worst):

  • 8th – Admission Rate
  • 46th – Net Cost
  • 46th – Student-Faculty Ratio
  • 49th – On-Campus Crime
  • 14th – Gender & Racial Diversity
  • 3rd – Graduation Rate
  • 10th – Post-Attendance Median Salary

To view the full reports, please visit: 

Best Colleges & Universities Overall: https://wallethub.com/edu/college-rankings/40750/

Best Colleges: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-colleges-in-the-us-ranking/40748/

Best Universities: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-universities-in-usa-ranking/39704/