There has been a slowdown of international students looking to go to university in the States after recent policy changes on immigration. That, however, hasn’t stopped the flow of foreign students looking to get a post-secondary education in the U.S., and they can’t be blamed for wanting a good one!
There are a thousand universities and colleges within America’s borders to go to and finding preferred ones can be a frustrating and time-consuming process. This list was created to answer the question of where are the best places ones to go and was compiled from a number of sources.
Here are the top five colleges in the U.S.A. for international students:
- Princeton University – It’s no surprise that Princeton would be on the list or that it would be at number one! Among the oldest and most well-established universities in the country, Princeton was established in 1746. Originally created to train ministers, what was originally called the College of New Jersey quickly grew into the esteemed post-secondary institution that it is today.
Princeton has accomplished a great deal of diversity in its student body with over forty percent identifying as people of color, making it a welcoming place for international students. It has both undergraduate and post-graduate studies in no less than forty-two separate academic departments!
Students accepted into Princeton feel honored at the invitation as only six point one percent of applications are accepted.
Notable alumni include Michelle Obama, Jimmy Stewart, and F. Scott Fitzgerald (although he didn’t graduate). Princeton University is located in Princeton, New Jersey.
- Yale University – Just about any American academic list isn’t complete without an entry for Yale. Yale is the third-oldest university in the U.S., having been founded in 1701. This establishment was originally created, like Princeton, to train ministers. It now boasts a student body of over ten thousand.
Yale also boasts strong numbers for minorities and women. An encouraging one out of every two students is female, and nearly fifty percent of the student body is from a minority, ensuring a diverse atmosphere for international students. Yale is divided into fourteen constituent schools including the undergraduate college, a school of the arts, along with a dozen other professional schools making up its many programs.
Like many other universities on this list, Yale is very selective about its undergraduate students with an acceptance rate of just under seven percent.
The alumni of Yale University include former president Bill Clinton, Jodie Foster, and composer Douglas Moore. It is located in New Haven, Connecticut.
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology – At number three is the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which was created in 1861. Although not as old as the first two entries on the list, it still an impressive institute with a distinct leaning towards research. MIT has a number of on and off campuses across many more scientifically inclined disciplines.
This post-secondary institution is known for how its students refer to their courses strictly by numbers or acronyms. Forty-five percent of undergraduates are women, and an impressive sixty-six percent of undergraduates are minorities making this a choice place to go for international students who enjoy diversity in the student body.
The admissions for its undergraduate program was just six point seven percent in 2017. So students have to knockemdead to get in there!
Alumni of interest who went to MIT include Buzz Aldrin, Kofi Annan, and Tom Scholz. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is based in Cambridge, MA.
- Harvard University – Harvard weighs in at number four, and with a lofty reputation that extends worldwide. Founded way back in 1636, it is the oldest post-secondary institution in the entire country, and also among the most prestigious. Originally created to train Puritan clergy, Harvard has become one of the most desirable universities to attend in the world!
Historically, Harvard has tended more towards classes being mostly Caucasian, but that has been changing with the year 2017 being the first where just over half of the freshman class was composed of minorities. It features both undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Harvard is incredibly selective about its admissions, however, with one year’s acceptance rate being only four and a half percent!
Harvard isn’t confined to a single campus, but has a business school and athletic facilities across the river in the Allston neighborhood of Boston. The Longwood Medical Area is where its medical and dental schools are located.
Notable alumni of Harvard University include John F. Kennedy, Barack Obama, and Mark Zuckerberg. Harvard University is based in Cambridge, MA.
- Columbia University – Located in New York, Columbia fills out the list of the top five universities. One of nine universities prior to the Declaration of Independence, it is rated among the top ten universities in the world.
Unlike other post-secondary institutions on this list, Columbia was established in 1836 with the express purpose of higher learning and started out as King’s College. It offers both undergraduate and postgraduate studies in a number of fields.
Just over half of students at Columbia identify as a minority, making it a welcome addition to the list for those international students looking for a diverse campus to take part in. Be aware, though, that Columbia is very selective about its students with undergraduate acceptance being only five point one percent!
The long list of alumni of Columbia University includes both Theodore Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt, as well as Madeleine Albright, Isaac Asimov, J.D. Salinger, and Art Garfunkel.
It is interesting to note that the number of international students from each country reflects the populations of those nations. By far, the country that sends the most students to the U.S. is China, and the second is India, which are the two largest countries by population in the world.
Past that point, however other motivations take effects such as proximity to America and their relation to it. What is clear, however, is that there are still in the range of a million international students coming to study in America every year. And, now they know which universities are best suited to them!
