California has more colleges and universities than any other state in the United States and has a reputation for being exceptionally supportive of higher education. The University of California system is widely regarded as one of the best public university systems in the country. The state also has a number of exceptional private universities for students to choose from.

10). California State University, Stanislaus
Like much of the Cal State system, Stanislaus State is an affordable college that enrolls a high number of students from lower-income backgrounds. One of the reasons it scores high in Money’s rankings is because it serves those students so well. Our analysis finds the university’s graduation rate is 14% higher than predicted based on colleges with similar student bodies.

9).California State University, Long Beach
Strong programs in practical, in-demand areas like accounting, health care administration and engineering help students who go to Cal State Long Beach line up jobs as soon as they graduate. As its nickname (“The Beach”) hints, CSULB’s campus environment is classic California, right down to its new mascot, Elbee the shark.

8).California State University Maritime Academy
Cal Maritime boasts one of the highest job placement rates in the California State University system — and the typical earnings for recent grads are higher than most other campuses in it, too. Also of note: Though the university is among seven degree-granting maritime institutions in the U.S., it’s the only one on the West Coast

7). University of California, San Diego
A top research university, UC San Diego attracts many students interested in majoring in the sciences. Once they’re on campus, courses are rigorous and competitive. Perhaps unsurprising, given its location near the Pacific Ocean, but the university is home to one of the oldest and largest centers for global earth science research

6). University of California, Davis
Students at UC Davis can earn undergraduate degrees in about 100 majors, but the university is best known for its specialties in agriculture and animal sciences. Davis is home to a dairy center, meat-processing lab and 100-acre arboretum. Its department of enology and viticulture offers an online winemaking certificate program, too.

5). University of California, Irvine.
At just over 50 years old, Irvine is one of the youngest campuses in the University of California system. About 85% of freshmen go on to graduate within six years, which analysis finds is higher than predicted based on institutions with similar students.

4). University of California, Berkeley.
As with many big universities, lower-level classes at UC Berkeley, known as Cal, can be large, sometimes drawing 1,000 students. But the upside of size is countless opportunities. The faculty, for example, includes numerous MacArthur fellows, Pulitzer Prize winners and Nobel laureates. On the non-academic side, students have access to 60 sororities and fraternities and hundreds of clubs.

3). Pomona College.
With about 1,600 undergraduates, Pomona offers plenty of opportunities to work closely with professors. But its size doesn’t mean students sacrifice options. They can take any class at the other members of the Claremont Colleges consortium — Claremont-McKenna, Harvey Mudd, Pitzer and Scripps.

2). University of California, Los Angeles
UCLA has a lot of star power — and not just from its Theater, Film and Television school, which counts Mariska Hargitay and Jack Black among its grads. There’s also professors Jared Diamond, a Pulitzer Prize-winning geographer, and Terence Tao, who won the Fields Medal (a prestigious mathematics award). On the sports front, Arthur Ashe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and several Olympians were all Bruins.

1). If you can get into Stanford (only 5% of applicants do), the university has enough resources to help you pay for it. Parents earning less than $150,000 aren’t expected to pay tuition; those earning less than $75,000 are not expected to contribute anything to their students’ college costs.

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