If you’re thinking about studying in America, then by all accounts that’s a great idea. The USA has the world’s best education. That’s not an opinion but a statement of fact. Every list of college rankings backs this up. For example, the 2018 T
imes Higher Educatio
n
list
of the world’s best universities features 15 US colleges in the top 20. Even more impressive is the
QS Top Universities
list
, where American colleges are ranked as the top four educational institutions globally. So choosing America as your number one place to study is commendable. After all, you want a high-quality degree from a country filled with opportunities.
But if you’re not from America, then studying at one of the US’s colleges can be a challenge. Some US universities are definitely more geared towards taking on and improving the prospects of foreign students than others. And if you want to live in America after you complete your degree, then certain colleges will give you an edge. Immigration in America is getting stricter day by day, but it’s also a fact that there will always be a demand for highly skilled people.
Anyone from outside of America that wants to move there indefinitely after college needs to put together a plan. You need to pursue a career that has more job openings than qualified Americans (such as STEM or medicine.) But even then, it’s a challenge. But if you go to the right college in America, then that can significantly boost your odds of finding graduate employment that keeps you in the country. Therefore, picking the right college should be a vital part of your plan!
Featured Online Programs
Figuring out where to apply? These top, accredited schools offer a variety of online degrees. Consider one of these accredited programs, and discover their value today.
If you’re wondering what the best colleges for foreign students are, then look no further. This list tells you everything you need to know. It compiles, from various sources, the US colleges that are incredible at educating non-US students and which lead to integration into the American job market. Perhaps none of these choices is right for you. That’s ok. You can take what these colleges are doing and see how the institutions that you’re considering compare.
Below are our rankings, from 30 to one, of all the best US colleges for foreign students. In our list, we’ve factored in aggregated college placement on the articles, percentages of foreign students at the colleges, financial aid that colleges grant to international students, post-education graduate employment rates and statements of satisfaction from foreign students.
With a strong showing on every methodology list, Columbia University tops our poll.
Niche.com
and
College Factual
name Columbia as the best international college.
Forbes
places it at 6th. Additionally, between 2016-2017, 213 international students received on average $62,004 in financial aid, the second highest sum of any college in America. This world-leading educational institution is located in the upper portion of Manhattan, New York City. And perhaps unsurprisingly for a college placed in the middle of the most international city in the world, Columbia is diverse. 15-17% of its students are international. That percentage makes it the 20th most foreign student occupied college in the country, according to
US News
. What's even better is that unlike other US colleges, Columbia accepts more international students each subsequent year. In fact, its international student body
increased
from 8,200 in 2009 to 14,000 in 2017.
Over 18,000 international students currently call University of Southern California home. And like many of the other best colleges on this list, USC's foreign student
population
is growing significantly. In 2011, 5,828 foreign students came to USC, meaning that the number has more than tripled in the last 7 years.
Niche.com
places USC as the third best college for foreign students.
Forbes
places it at 18 on its list. Most impressively, it's second on
College Factual's
list.
Every methodology list agrees that Carnegie Mellon is one of the five best American colleges for non-Americans. It's fifth on
Niche.com,
fourth on
Forbes,
and fourth on
College Factual.
Additionally, it has one of the highest foreign student populations in America. 23% of its students are international. One of the reasons why Carnegie Mellon is so popular among international students is due to its strong employment rates. According to the college's
fall statistics for 2017
, 3,178 out of 5,426 international students were able to secure OPT or STEM work extensions, allowing them to stay after their degrees' completions.
Ranking at 10th on the
Niche.com
list, 11th on the
Forbes
list and 8th on the
College Factual
list, New York University is an incredible choice for international students. Its foreign student services are staggering. For example, the
Tisch Office of Career Development's team
is dedicated to helping international people with their careers. On top of a high likelihood of being integrated with the thriving New York industries, foreign students benefit from bespoke c
ollege curated programs
. These are geared toward making the foreign students happy and successful.
Forbes
considers Babson College to be the top US university for foreign students. The other methodology lists are less generous but still consider it to be a great choice.
Niche.com
places it at 24th, and
College Factual
has it at 52nd. Babson is proud of its welcoming reputation and
states
that it, "values the individual cultural perspectives and experiences international students bring to the classroom and the community." These values are upheld by the college's staff in times of adversity. For example, when President Trump issued immigration restrictions on middle eastern countries, Babson College President, Kerry Healey,
released
a statement opposing it and vowing to help and affected students.
Coming in at seventh on
Niche.com,
third on
Forbes
and 80th on
College Factual's
lists of the best colleges for international students is Claremont Mckenna College. Getting into Claremont Mckenna College is incredibly difficult, however, due to its prestigiousness and small size. It only accepts around
1300 students
per year. In 2016,
230 students
were international. And by far the most popular subject for international students at Claremont Mckenna is economics, followed by mathematics and international relations & national security.
California colleges dominate this list for very specific reasons. The state's liberal focus and booming economy combine to form an incredibly appealing career destination for non-US citizens. And Berkeley is a fine choice for international students looking to integrate into this destination. It ranks eighth on
Niche.com,
15th on
Forbes
and 13th on
College Factual's
lists. And the good news is that, after three years of stagnation, international student enrollment
is increasing
at Berkeley. From 2014 to 2016, the international student enrollment numbers stood at around 5,900, but in 2017, this increased to 6,345.
The top international student college in Atlanta, the city that many consider to be the capital of the south, is Emory.
Niche.com
ranks this college as the 4th best in America for non-US citizens.
Forbes
isn't so generous and places it at 29th.
College Factual
has it at 32nd.
US News
states that Emory was the college with the 16th highest international student population in 2016-2017. And international students attending Emory form a key part of its
global strategy
. This includes a range of pathways that allow international students to enter into jobs in worldwide American corporations, such as The Coca-Cola Company and Delta Airlines.
No one can doubt that Pomona College is welcoming for foreign students. According to Niche.com, 19% of its full-time students come from overseas to study at this California college. And Pomona College has a range of services that ensure international students thrive. For example, the
International Student Support Program
is a free service that gives foreign students all sorts of help. This program has advisors available 24/7 and even has its own app!
Niche.com
considers Pomona to be the second best college in America for international students.
Forbes
ranks it at 41st.
College Factual
has it at 117.
Placing at seventh on
Forbes,
17th on
Niche.com
and 14th on
College Factual
's international student lists, Boston University is one of the most consistently ranked colleges. This result makes BU the best choice for an international student looking to study in Boston, Massachusetts. This city is home to a range of thriving tech and STEM companies that need qualified professionals. By teaching almost
10,000 international students
in 2017, Boston University is doing its utmost to meet this demand. Additionally, international students benefit from the
International Student & Scholar Hub
, which assists with community, health, career and housing matters.
Both
Niche.com
and
College Factual
place this institution in the top 20 colleges for international students. They rank it 12th and 16th respectively.
Forbes
is slightly less generous, placing it at 31st. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is particularly proud of its international student & scholar services. Its team is incredibly helpful and even produced
a guide
to help prevent international students from becoming the victims of scams. Martin McFarlane, the director of the college's international services,
states
that the University of Illinois created, "the first-ever international advisor position at a US school back in 1907." With over a hundred years of experience, University of Illinois is a leader in managing international student issues!
This Upstate New York-based college has a lot to offer. Placing at 27th on
Forbes,
11th on
Niche.com
and 23rd on
College Factual's
lists of the top US colleges for international students, Rochester is well regarded. Additionally, US News reports that University of Rochester's student body is 21% foreign, making it the ninth most international college in America. If you want to run your own business, in America or elsewhere, then Rochester may be the right choice for you. By far the subject with
the most international students
is business administration & management. This subject had 634 international students enrolled the last time
College Factual
checked. For comparison, the next most popular subject at this college, economics, had 170 international students.
By being located near the Mexican border and in liberal California, San Diego is very open and friendly to immigrants.
Niche.com
considers the University of California, San Diego to be the 23rd best college for international students.
College Factual
places it even higher, as 17th best. However,
Forbes
places it at 34th place. As you may expect from its location, University of California, San Diego has one of the highest international student populations in America.
US News
states that it has the 11th highest percentage of foreign students attending, which is just higher than New York University.
Swarthmore is a college that significantly overperforms in peer-led reviews. On
Niche.com's
list of the best US colleges for international students, which is heavily influenced by student reviews, it's ranked sixth.
Forbes's
best international student college list places it at 39th.
College Factual
puts it at 105th. Swarthmore is a great choice for any international student looking for financial aid as they study. Swarthmore's
website
states that the average financial aid granted to a foreign student last year was $61,650.
Featuring at ninth on
Niche.com
's list and 10th on
College Factual's
list, Northeastern University has some strong international student credentials. However, it doesn't make
Forbes's
list of the top 50 American colleges for non-US citizens. Despite this, other factors mean that Northeastern is the second best college for international students who want to study in Boston. Northeastern is responsible for getting many talented international students into prestigious job roles. It currently has over
13,000 international students
and scholars from 147 different countries attending.
Both
Forbes
and
College Factual
rank MIT highly, placing it at fifth and 12th on their best international student college lists. It is absent from
Niche.com's
list, however. This is largely because it takes on less international students than its local rivals. Currently, it has around 3,800
international students
. However, for international students who do get accepted into MIT, the job prospects are strong. The college's international students office is currently helping 1,300 alumni that have employment authorization in America. This is just a small proportion of the total number that it has assisted with job placement over the years.
Cornell's best ranking on the methodology lists is on
College Factual,
where it is placed third.
Forbes
places it at 25th, just below Harvard.
Niche.com
does not feature it
.
There are many great things about Cornell's approach to taking on international students. In the last decade, their
international study body
has increased from 3,360 to 5,073. This means that international students now make up 22% of the total student population. Cornell also runs a r
ange of workshops
that specialize in teaching international students how to successfully stay and work in the US after graduating. If this convinces you to want to apply for Cornell, be sure to check out
this page
on their website, which covers international student application tips.
This college features in the top 100 of every methodology list, but the placement is skewered. Rhode Island School of Design's best ranking is eighth place on
Forbes. Niche.com
places it at 25th, and
College Factual
has it at 73rd. As the name implies, Rhode Island School of Design is one of the best options for international students looking to pursue an artistic career, in the US or elsewhere. One thing that can appeal to a budding international artist is its
Writing Center,
which assists foreign students whose first language is not English. The tutors at the Writing Center help with everything that can improve a student's command of the English language.
Another institution that is placed on opposite ends of the methodology list spectrums, Bryn Mawr College is one of several Pennsylvania based colleges on the list.
Forbes
names it the 10th best college for international students.
Niche.com
places it at 15th. College Factual, on the other hand, places it at 95th. Bryn Mawr also has one of the
largest international student communities
of any US college. In any given year, between 25% to 30% of its students are foreign.
Mount Holyoke College ranks on every international student methodology list. It comes in at 19th on
Niche.com,
17th on
Forbes
and 96th on
College Factual.
Unlike the other Massachusetts based colleges on this list, Mount Holyoke has a country feel. It isn't located near or in Boston but in an incredibly rural part of the state. International students are a very important part of Mount Holyoke, with
one-quarter of its students
being foreign. And the internet
is filled
with accounts of how great Mount Holyoke is for all people. The hashtag #
WeAreMountHolyoke
showcases this with positive posts on many social media sites.
Located in Iowa, Grinnell is one of the few colleges from the middle of America to make all of the methodology lists.
Niche.com
places it at 13th,
Forbes
places it at 37th and
College Factual
places it at 107th. Even though the college is not located in what many would consider to be an international person friendly part of the USA, Grinnell College is incredibly welcoming to all people. For example, it has a
friendship program
for new international arrivals, which has resident hosts and incoming students fill out forms that match people together based on their interests.
This institution makes the top 10 on two of the methodology's best international student lists.
Forbes
places it at ninth, while
College Factual
puts it at fifth. But it isn't to be found on the
Niche.com
list. The University of Pennsylvania is proud of the way that it assists its current international student population. For example, the
Intercultural Leadership Program
, which won the 2018 Models of Excellence Award, has been running for 12 years. It encourages a range of students to take part in team building and professional activities by highlighting different cultural approaches.
Coming in at sixth place on
College Factual
,
24th place on
Forbes
and not featuring on
Niche.com
, Harvard has mixed rankings. One thing in its favor is that the average financial aid that Harvard gave to international students in 2016-2017 was $60,687. This year, Harvard's
international population
is 10,022, up from 9,851 in 2017. Harvard's international student body sees a slight increase such as this every year. Harvard has also published
a guide
to culture shock that all international students can surely find useful!
Stanford ranks at 23rd on
Forbes's
list and ninth on
College Factual's
list. It doesn't make
Niche.com's
list. However, the average financial aid granted to an international student is $60,570. Another appealing aspect of Stanford is its
Community Committee for International Students
. This committee is a volunteer organization that builds links in the local community by organizing events such as morning coffee meets, English classes, and film screenings. On top of this, the college's Bechtel International Center
provides
for international students the Billie Achilles Fund. This is awarded for programming ideas that have an international focus.
This Ivy League college ranks 14th on
Forbes
and 23rd on
College Factual's
best international college lists. It isn't featured on
Niche.com
's list. The international student population of Stanford has experienced
small but consistent growth
over the last five years. For instance, in 2016, there were 1,831 international students, but in 2017 there were 1,884 international students. And doctoral degrees were the most popular kind that international students undertook in the last year. Over half its total international population chose to study these degrees.
Rice University is in Houston, one of America's
fastest-growing cities
. This means that it can be an incredible place for an international student to integrate with American society. Despite being in Texas, one of the least immigration friendly states in the USA, Houston is welcoming to new people from anywhere. And Rice University is placed at 16th on
Forbes
and 25th on
College Factual's
lists of the best international student colleges. It isn't featured on
Niche.com.
This may be due to the fact that
financial aid
is offered to a limited number of international students.
This college is placed 11th on
College Factual's
list of the best international student colleges. It's 35th on
Forbes's
list. It doesn't rank on
Niche.com.
It may well be featured on future
Niche.com
lists, however, as the college's international student population
increased 23%
in the last year alone. The best degrees for entering into Duke as an international student are its Master of Engineering program and Master of Quantitative Management program. The latter degree is comprised of over 80% international students overall.
College Factual
places Yale as the 19th best option in America for international students.
Forbes
is more reserved, placing it at 33rd. It doesn't feature on
Niche.com's
list. However, the amount of average financial aid given to international students at Yale is high, standing at $58,864 according to
US News.
It currently has
2,841 international students enrolled
, its highest number ever. This makes up 22% of the entire student population. And if you need any more convincing, then Yale has released
this video
that highlights how great the college is for non-US citizens.
The University of Tulsa is 21st place on
Niche.com's
international student list. It's 19th on
Forbes's
list and 106th on
College Factual's
list
.
The University of Tulsa is renowned for
its College of Engineering and Natural Sciences
. As a result, the engineering school features its largest concentration of international students. According to
US News
, the last time they checked, 329 international students were enrolled in the college's petroleum engineering degree, and 146 were enrolled in the mechanical engineering degree. The only downside is that University of Tulsa's international student population decreased slightly in 2016, with 1,165 students studying compared to 1,260 the year before.
Harvey Mudd College polarizes the methodology lists.
Forbes
ranks it as the second best US college for international students. However,
College Factual
places it at 125th.
Niche.com
neglects to feature it at all. This may be due to Harvey Mudd's small size, meaning it gets fewer reviews (student and parent reviews make up a large proportion of
Niche.com's
rankings
.)
There are
currently
only 844 students enrolled in the college. In 2016, 106 students were international, which is a slight decrease in 2015, when there were 115. The top course for international students at this college is general engineering.
Methodology: Here's How We Rank ig电子竞技(新疆)结果视频
At Best Value ig电子竞技(新疆)结果视频, we help students of all ages get the best possible value for their education. When choosing the best schools and programs, we prioritize tuition rates, student debt, financial aid opportunities, graduation rates, and the availability of online programs.
We source unbiased data from government and educational databases like the
National Center for Education Statistics
and the
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
for 6,374 schools across the U.S. We organize that data into five weighted categories to compile our school rankings.
Metric
Data Used
Percentage
Academic Quality
Full-time faculty percentage, student-to-faculty ratio, student retention and graduation rates
25%
Affordability
Tuition rates, median student debt, and financial aid
35%
Reputation
Admission and enrollment rates
15%
Program Offerings
Number of program options
10%
Online Enrollment Score
Portion of learners taking at least one online course
15%
You can read more about our comprehensive evaluation process on our
methodology page.
We’ve researched the most respectable sources in curating this list. We’ve stacked up a range of articles and then looked into the statements with our own research. Many colleges view our sources and use their rankings on the source lists to boast about their credentials. However, our list combines each source, creating the most definitive guide online. The different source materials inevitably have their own biases. So we’ve filtered the listings by most frequently cited and backed up the most consistent entries with our own supplementary research. The articles we’re referencing are as follows:
Finding popular online degrees isn't as difficult as one might think, considering that in America, the idea of an online education is becoming mainstream. As advancements in teaching become more...
So you've studied hard in high school, got good grades, and now you're ready to start focusing on what comes next: your career. Wow, that's a huge task, and it...
" data-src="https://res.cloudinary.com/highereducation/images/w_1060,h_739/f_auto,q_auto/v1631902810/BestValueig电子竞技(新疆)结果视频.com/GettyImages-658984513/GettyImages-658984513.jpg?_i=AA" alt="Is Attending College Online Cheaper Than Traditional College?" data-public-id="BestValueig电子竞技(新疆)结果视频.com/GettyImages-658984513.jpg" data-format="jpg" data-transformations="f_auto,q_auto" data-version="1631902810" data-size="1060 739" data-delivery="upload" onload=";window.CLDBind?CLDBind(this):null;" data-cloudinary="lazy" />
It is without a doubt that the and obtaining a degree is one of the biggest concerns for students. Many students solely base their decision on getting an education on...
Discover a program that is right for you.
Explore different options for you based on your degree interests.