A recent report ranked two California universities among the top 10 institutions in the nation.
The California Institute of Technology earned an overall score of 79.27 out of 100, placing it at No. 4 in WalletHub's rankings, while Stanford University followed with a score of 76.78, ranking No. 9.
In its 2027 report, WalletHub identified the top-performing schools offering the best value to undergraduates by comparing nearly 740 colleges and universities nationwide across 30 metrics. Those measures examined everything from campus experience and affordability to student outcomes after graduation.
Here's what the report found for California institutions, along with the nation's top-ranked colleges and universities.
Best California colleges and universities, according to WalletHub
Here's a full list of the 30 California
institutions included in WalletHub's analysis, along with their overall scores and rankings.
Top college and universities nationwide, according to report
Here are the top institutions nationwide, along with their rankings and overall scores, according to WalletHub's report.
- No. 1: Princeton University, New Jersey (80.76)
- No. 2: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Massachusetts (79.62)
- No. 3: Yale University, Connecticut (79.53)
- No. 4: California Institute of Technology, California (79.27)
- No. 5: Harvard University, Massachusetts (78.71)
- No. 6: Northwestern University, Illinois (76.96)
- No. 7: University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania (76.8)
- No. 8: Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania (76.79)
- No. 9: Stanford University, California (76.78)
- No. 10: Georgia Institute of Technology, Georgia (76.76)
Report's methodology
To determine the best higher-education institutions, WalletHub compared 738 colleges and universities across seven dimensions: student selectivity, cost and financing, faculty resources, campus safety, campus experience, educational outcomes, and career outcomes. The rankings used 30 metrics.
For student selectivity, WalletHub looked at several factors, including a school's admission rate, ACT/SAT scores and the share of freshmen in the top 10% of their high school graduating class. Cost and financing metrics included a school's net cost, availability of employment services for students, and student loan debt. Faculty resources included the student-faculty ratio, average class size, share of full-time faculty, and faculty salaries.
Metrics used to assess campus safety included on-campus arrests and on-campus crime. To determine a school's campus experience, WalletHub looked at the share of international students, the percentage of students living on campus, NCAA membership, availability of study-abroad programs, gender and racial diversity, and average earnings from on-campus employment.
Metrics used to measure educational outcomes included retention rate, graduation rate, and credentials awarded per undergraduate enrollment. For career outcomes, WalletHub looked at return on educational investment, the share of graduates offered full-time employment within six months, post-attendance median salary, the share of former students outearning high school graduates, the share of students paying down debt, and the student loan default rate.
WalletHub graded each metric on a 100-point scale, with 100 representing the best school performance and the most favorable conditions for undergraduate students during and after attendance.
The company then calculated each school's weighted average across the metrics to derive an overall score used in the rankings.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: 2 California universities rank among nation's top 10, report finds
