The Top 7 Universities in California

Finding the right university to attend can be an intimidating process. In this day and age, there are countless universities in US offering various degree options which makes the decision even more difficult. It is important that you select a school that best suits your interests and goals.

To help make it easier for prospective students, we’ve created a list of the top 7 universities in California that offer some of the highest quality education available! Explore each school’s strengths, examine their highly ranked academics, learn about their thought-provoking research projects and discover why these schools are considered among America’s finest.

The Top 7 Universities in California

University of California, Los Angeles

• Address: Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.6 (2289)
• Phone: +1 310-825-4321
• Website: Link
• Reviews:
  Very health conscious, clean, and gorgeous campus. The school shop has SO MANY Bruins clothing options and styles, it’s hard to choose! The staff is lovely and helpful, from the library to the stores. There are free covid tests on campus for students, too. Looking forward to a great time here! Especially with Mr. Powell, the kitty ♡

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By 天（Sky） (11 months ago)

  First time attended here is 2012. I cannot believe an entire decade has slipped in a blink.
  The campus is beautiful as usual. The 2nd floor of store still has that sushi place, cafe, and Karl’s Jr, as well as those two big screens that served us for Euro Cups in 2012 summer.
  new students are energetic and passionate about everything just like us before.
  The food delivery robot is a new feature.
  Salute to UCLA. You are always the best.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Gu Lin (7 months ago)

  UCLA has such a beautiful campus, friendly people, high academic rigor, great food, and a chill atmosphere. The type of atmosphere that is usually never seen at other highly ranked institutions. Being here just feels like you’re in a completely different reality. Go Bruins!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jose (7 months ago)

  The BEST college and MOST prestigious university in California. The academics and extracurricular offered are unparalleled. This school is definitely hands down one of the top universities in the entire United States.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Yuehan Luo (8 months ago)

  A night time tour of the UCLA campus. It’s beautiful even at this time. Lovely mix of old and new buildings, lots of spaces to connect and think, and lots of stories to hear and tell.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Juzar Mustan (4 months ago)

University of Southern California

• Address: Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.6 (1577)
• Phone: +1 213-740-2311
• Website: Link
• Reviews:
  My daughter got admission in this university for her masters. She chose this university amongst many invites she got from east and west coast….owing to it’s high reputation. We went with her for her orientation. We were impressed by the massive campus spread in Acres. Beautiful imperial style old architecture. Beautiful paved roads inside everywhere. Beautiful landscaping. There are many shops we were told in just adjacent USC village. Coffee shops inside. A book store with necessities for sale for students. Baseball ⚾️ and other grounds. Security guards on every entrance. Students’ insurance done by university. They say the faculty is also good. University housing is available but there are lots of student housing around. We are pleased to have our daughter studying here….👍🏻🙂

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Sagar Gosavi (3 months ago)

  Beautiful campus filled with amazing minds. I really loved the building styles and the way campus is maintained. It’s a tough university to get into for a reason.
  Best part is the free Lyft rides they offer their students during the night to maintain safety, that is something I have never heard before.
  I would love to visit this campus again.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Apurv Thakur (a year ago)

  I don’t study there but i’d like to! Really really cool environment, academic spirit and passion. Beautiful architecture and the campus… wow beautiful

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Daniel Abalaseii (3 weeks ago)

  The campus is really pretty and it’s worth the walk even if you don’t attend the university!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Martin Georgiev (a month ago)

  Great place, Students were very welcoming and friendly. Multiple places to get coffee and food. Great variety. Tranquil environment in the middle of South Central LA. Clean and well lit.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jeffrey Nast (4 months ago)

University of California, Berkeley

• Address: Berkeley, CA, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 3.3 (1478)
• Phone: +1 510-642-6000
• Website: Link
• Opening hours:
  Monday: Closed

  Tuesday: Closed

  Wednesday: Closed

  Thursday: Closed

  Friday: Closed

  Saturday: Closed

  Sunday: Open 24 hours
• Reviews:
  Very significantly historic university. There is many good stories to everything from the floor to the structure of the buildings. Students here achieve academic excellence and fight for what they believe. Students here fight for justice and come together to be able to do so.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Guadalupe Morales Garfias (4 years ago)

  The campus is beautiful and in a decent location not too far from San Francisco. The students are very passionate about what they do and it seems that the school really cares about providing students with clubs, services, and classes that can truly benefit them. It would be an honor to attend this school. A+ from me. Only downside is that it was hard to find good restaurants around there. And I watched a guy get arrested on campus so that was interesting. They don’t really have parking options. It’s a walking school for sure. The nature and campus is welcoming, gorgeous, and an overall peaceful atmosphere. Truly a beauty.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Olivia Y. (5 years ago)

  On of the places I wished be able to visit. An I still want to come back.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Lê Đông Phương (2 years ago)

  So far it’s not bad. Wifi is spotty on campus. The weather here is nice though.

  ✭✭✭✭ By Steven Du (5 years ago)

  a university where you can get knowledge and experience as well as friends.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Brummer Stuber (a week ago)

University of California Irvine

• Address: Irvine, CA 92697, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.4 (978)
• Phone: +1 949-824-5011
• Website: Link
• Reviews:
  First time to UCI. To my surprise, much larger than uCLA. Good college, especially the honors program.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By TIAN XIA (8 months ago)

  Graduated in 2011 and I loved this school. They were truly the best memories of my life. Rigorous, challenging, engaging classes and wonderful professors and staff. The campus is absolutely beautiful especially Aldrich Park. So many bunnies (and sometimes owls!). The campus layout made it really easy to get to your classes since it’s all one big circle.

  Only downfall is that it’s pretty far from regular civilization and is basically in a corporation town, so you either need a car or knowledge of the buses and trains to actually go anywhere interesting. But the students and residents were always sweet and there’s some great local restaurants, just a bit plain of a city. Santa Ana is nearby if you need some culture!

  Otherwise the school had a lot of great clubs and programs to keep you engaged and busy. The slight isolation from regular cities may even be a good thing to avoid distractions from your studies. I highly recommend UCI to anyone deciding on a college to go to. In n’ Out (& Cha for Tea!) across the street in walking distance is also a huge plus!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jessica Banda (in the last week)

  Very impressive University. I felt like I was at a resort. Everything was clean and orderly. The people are all friendly and willing to show visitors why this campus is so highly regarded.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Dang L. (a year ago)

  Great university and nice campus, Irvine in general is an amazing town.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Joseph Du (2 months ago)

  Beautiful facility perfect for the Los Angeles Rams training camp a wonderful time had by all.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Mike Heil (4 months ago)

California State University Long Beach

• Address: 1250 Bellflower Blvd, Long Beach, CA 90840, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.6 (774)
• Phone: +1 562-985-4111
• Website: Link
• Reviews:
  My son did his MS here for two years. We couldn’t see his university when he was studying and on his convocation in 2020 because of covid. So we decided to visit it now. The campus is so vast some say over 200 acres…that my son drove us through the university. Beautiful layout, the Japanese garden and the pyramid are landmarks of the university. As a state university it’s very affordable. There are lots of student housing around. There are different sections of university for each branch of learning with huge buildings. The long beach bus service is free for students. According to my son the staff is great and so are the classes. Student recreation center and medical facilities free for students. My son enjoyed learning in this university and we were impressed to see it…..👌🏼👌🏼🙂🙂👍🏻

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Sagar Gosavi (3 months ago)

  I visited here and saw great facilities for students. 😀

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Jane R (3 months ago)

  My experience at CSULB as an international student:
  —I majored in Studio Art so I spent a lot of time in the studio and outside just to look at the nature for inspiration.
  — CSULB has a beautiful campus with people from all over the world. School of Art is on upper campus. So it’s a bit of a walk from students parking.
  — I had the opportunity to work at the pyramid, a state of the art volleyball/ basketball facility. Really interesting building!
  — International department is helpful but it seems like they are overloaded.
  — All the advisor are helpful and willing to work with you, so I really appreciate that.

  Thanks CSULB for having me!

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Minh Anh Emma Tran (a year ago)

  Parking situation is absurd. But it’s a nice campus, I really like the landscaping. Close to the beach so the air quality and weather tends to be quite pleasant

  ✭✭✭✭ By Andrew Hanouneh (a month ago)

  One of the best places around Los Angeles. I did my masters in Computer Science from the university.

  It is a very diverse. The campus is excellent. The campus is smoking free and supports economic and green life.

  Not too many words but its a good place to go to and would recommend.

  ✭✭✭✭✭ By Dipesh Rafaliya (2 years ago)

University of California, Riverside

• Address: 900 University Ave, Riverside, CA 92521, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.4 (694)

California State University, Los Angeles

• Address: 5151 State University Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90032, United States
• Map: Click here
• Rating: 4.5 (663)

Thank you for reading! We hope this list helps you find the best universities in California. If you have any additional information, please leave a comment below!