Top Universities and Colleges in USA - Ranking, Courses, Fees, Scholarships, Admissions

Home to Ivy League universities like Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University, etc., the United States is the popular study abroad destination among international students. The country has a large number of top-ranked universities in the world. Universities in USA constantly dominate the top ranking list in the world, this will make them reputable law, business, and medical schools in the world. MIT, Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of California, Berkeley (UCB) are among the top 10 universities in the world.

There are over 980 best universities in the USA to study undergraduate, graduate, and other degree-level programs. The cost of studying in the US varies by the program for international students. Fall intake in the USA is the main academic session for admission in the USA for students, which begins in September. 

Also read: Which type of application deadline to choose?

Universities in USA: Highlights

The USA is the top destination among international students to study abroad. Around 985 US universities are there that offer world-class education to students. The student-to-teacher ratio is 16 to 1 at most of the top universities in the USA. The Universities in USA fees range between INR 10 L to INR 40+ L based on the course type and location. To get admission to the best colleges in the USA, students have to meet the requirements to study in the USA. The below table includes the highlights of best US universities for international students:

Parameter	Statistics
No. of universities in USA	1000+
Tuition fees of universities in USA	Up to INR 10 L: 285 universities Over INR 40 L: 195 universities
Top 3 streams in USA	BE/BTech, BBA, and MBA/PGDM
English language exams required	IELTS TOEFL PTE Duolingo
Entrance exams required	GRE GMAT SAT ACT
Best students cities in USA	Boston, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, etc.

Why Study in USA?

Higher education, better job opportunities, the best student cities, international student groups, the world’s top universities, etc. are the Top Reasons to Study in the USA for international students. The US education system is a top-ranker for its widely known research-oriented expertise. Student’s Ivy League universities and scholarships program to study in the USA.

Post-work permits in USA

Post Study work permit in the USA is one of the major reasons to study in the country. This will attract international students to study higher studies in the USA. Students who completed their degrees from top colleges in the USA can apply for post-study work. Students must have a valid Post-study work visa to get the work permit.

Read more about the Countries that give Work Permit after Study

Part-time options in USA

Part-time jobs are important for international students who come to study abroad in the USA. Students can work up to 20 hours a week when classes are in session and up to 40 hours a week full-time while the classes are not going on. Below are some of the top Part-time job professions for students:

• Library Monitor
• Teaching Assistant
• Tour Guide
• Peer Tutor
• Campus Tech Support

Must read about the 10 In-Demand Part-time Jobs for Indian Students in the USA

Student Visa Fee in USA

The USA continues to be the top preferred choice among international students to study abroad. To study in the USA, students must have a valid student study visa in the USA. According to the USCIS report, around two lakh Indian students apply to study in the USA in 2022, the number is increasing by more than 19% in comparison to 2021. Check below the student Visa Fee in USA for Indian students:

Type of Student Visas in USA & Costs
Types of Student Visas	F1	J1	M1
SEVIS Fee
Amount	USD 350	USD 220	USD 350
Accepted Modes of Payment	Credit Card Money Order/ Demand Draft
Payable in	Dollars at the applicable exchange rate as determined by the bank
MRV Application Fee / Visa Application Fee
Amount	USD 185	USD 185	USD 185
Accepted Modes of Payment	NEFT Online Transfer Instant Money Transfer by Mobile - IMPS By Cash at counters of Axis Bank/ Citibank
Payable in	Payable in INR at the Exchange Rate Fixed by the Consular Office (At present the exchange rate is fixed at USD 1 = INR 83.18 - Sept 6, 2023)

Also read: Student Visas for Study Abroad

Top Job Sectors & Economy in USA

Graduates who completed their degree from popular universities in the USA get employment in top job sectors in USA. As per the report, Healthcare is the highest-paying job sector in the USA for graduates. We have below the top job sectors in the USA for international students:

• Healthcare
• Information Technology
• Real estate development
• Retail
• Education

Best Students Cities in USA 2024

According to QS Best Students Cities 2024 ranking, 14 US cities are ranked among the top 100 student cities in the world to study abroad. Students can choose their universities located in these cities to study in the USA. Boston is among the top 10 in the world in the Best Students Cities Ranking 2024. Students can check below the list of best students cities in the USA:

Best Students Cities	Rank in the World by QS in 2024
Boston	10
New York	17
San Francisco	20
Los Angeles	27
Chicago	39

Read more about the Best Student Cities in the USA

Top Universities in USA

We have below the list of top universities in USA for international students and their world ranking declared by the QS World Ranking and THE:

Universities in USA	QS World Ranking 2024	THE Ranking 2024
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	1	3
Harvard University	4	4
Stanford University	5	2
University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	10	9
University of Chicago	11	13
University of Pennsylvania	12	16
Cornell University	13	20
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	15	7
Yale University	16	10
Princeton University	17	6

Here’s detailed information about Top-Ranked Universities in USA

Best Engineering Universities in USA

Universities in the USA offer Engineering programs in popular specializations like Computer Science, Chemical Engineering, Electrical & Electronic Engineering, etc. International students can check the list of the best BTech universities in the USA below:

Engineering Universities in USA	QS Subject Ranking 2023
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	1
Stanford University	2
University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	5
Harvard University	8
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)	10
Georgia Institute of Technology	12
Carnegie Mellon University	15
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)	17
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign	19
University of Texas at Austin	23

Best Management Universities in USA

Among the top 20 Management Universities in USA, 12 are US universities for international students. Check the list of top Management Universities in USA below:

Management Universities in USA	QS Subject Ranking 2023
Harvard University	1
Stanford University	3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	4
University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	7
Yale University	8
University of Chicago	9
Columbia University	10
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)	11
University of Pennsylvania	12
New York University (NYU)	13

Best Life Science & Medicine Universities in USA

Among the top 20 medicine universities in USA, 12 are US universities for international students. Check the list of top Life Science & Medicine Universities in the USA below:

Life Science & Medicine Universities in USA	QS Subject Ranking 2023
Harvard University	1
Johns Hopkins University	3
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	4
Stanford University	4
University of California, San Francisco	8
University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)	10
Yale University	14
University of California, San Diego (UCSD)	15
University of Washington	16
University of Pennsylvania	17

Also read: Top MBBS Colleges in the USA for Indian Students

MBA Universities in USA

The USA is the home of the top MBA universities in the World. Students can check the list of top MBA universities in USA below:

MBA Universities in USA	QS MBA Ranking 2023
Stanford Graduate School of Business	1
Harvard Business School	2
Penn (Wharton)	3
MIT (Sloan)	6
Columbia Business School	8
UC Berkeley (Haas)	11
Chicago (Booth)	13
Northwestern (Kellogg)	14
UCLA (Anderson)	15
Yale School of Management	18

Also read: Top Countries to Study MBA Abroad

Top States/ Cities to Study in USA

Many US cities rank among the top student cities in the world by QS Best Students Cities ranking 2023.

Top Cities to Study in USA	Count of Universities
California	122
New York	97
Texas	63
Pennsylvania	60
Illinois	51

Top Courses in USA

US top universities offer courses in degree, certificate, and diploma levels for international students. There are around 956 degree, 85 certificates, and 9 diploma programs are offered at US universities. The below table includes the top 10 courses in the USA with their number of universities:

Top 10 Courses in USA	Count of Universities
BE/BTech	717
BBA	663
MBA/PGDM	553
BSc	530
MS	529
MIM	400
BA	338
MA	279
BJMC	239

Admission Requirements in USA

International students who wish to continue their higher education at US Universities must meet the entry criteria of the university. The requirements to study master's in USA for Indian students are different from bachelor’s requirements. Students must complete the 12th class education for bachelor's admission and have a bachelor’s degree for master’s admission.

Entrance Exams Accepted by Universities in USA

Some of the entrance exams accepted by US universities for MS courses are given as follows:

Entrance Exam	Count of Universities
GRE	497
SAT	496
GMAT	431
ACT	28

English Language Requirements by Universities in USA

Students whose first language is not English must submit the score of any of the below English Language Proficiency test scores:

English Language Exams	Count of Universities
TOEFL	950
IELTS	864
PTE	434
Duolingo	349

Documents Required in USA

To complete the admission application, international students must submit the required documents to get into US Universities successfully. We have mentioned below the documents required as per the program:

Documents	Bachelors Admission	Master’s Admission
Academic	Must complete 12th-class education with the required score	A bachelor’s degree is required for master's admission in the USA
English language test	IELTS/TOEFL/PTE/Duolingo	IELTS/TOEFL/PTE
Standardized test scores	Not required	GRE/GMAT/SAT/ACT
Other documents	Not required	Academic transcripts, Proof of Finance, LOR, SOP, Resume

Intakes in USA Universities

Usually, there are two intakes in the USA for international students, namely Fall and Spring. Students can choose any of them to study in the USA. Apart from Fall and Spring, there is one more intake in the USA, i.e., Summer that usually starts in May. However, most of the courses in the USA begin in the Fall intake. International students can apply for scholarships and financial aid in the Fall intake.

• Fall semester: The fall intake in the USA is the most opted one by Indian students. The fall months in the USA are from September to December
• Spring semester: The spring semester starts in January and ends in May. The spring intake in the USA begins in October or November. 
• Summer semester: This intake is for limited programs and courses and usually starts in May

Cost of studying in USA

The cost of studying in the USA for international students varies by program from one university to another. To study MS in the USA, the average first-year cost is INR 23.5 L and for studying MBA in USA, the average cost is INR 27.8 L for international students.

Universities in USA Tuition Fees

International students can check below the first-year tuition fees range of US Universities:

First-Year Tuition Fee Range	Count of Universities
Max 10 lakhs	269
Max 20 lakhs	747
Max 30 lakhs	879
Max 40 lakhs	940
40 lakhs +	183

Cost of Living in USA

The cost of living in USA for international students is around INR 8.3 L to INR 15 L depending on the city. Studying in the USA is expensive for international students because of the high cost of living and tuition fees at some top universities. The living cost includes the accommodation cost, room rent, food, travel, stationery, entertainment, and other expenses. Students can check the Cost of Living in USA for the different states below:

Big Cities in the USA	Average monthly expenses in the USA
New York	USD 3,300 or iNR 2.7 L
California	USD 4,000 or INR 3.2 L
Boston	USD 3,316 or INR 2.8 L
San Francisco	USD 4,000 or INR 3.2 L
Suburban Cities of the USA	Average monthly expenses in the USA
Atlanta	USD 2,200 or INR 1.8 L
New Orleans	USD 2,000 or INR 1.7 L
Philadelphia	USD 1,300 or INR 1.1 L
Seattle	USD 2,500 or INR 1.1 L
Texas	USD 2,000 or INR 1.7 L
Illinois	USD 1,470 or INR 1.2 L

(USD 1 = INR 83.09)

Check the list of 8 Most Affordable Cities for Studying in the US

Scholarships in USA

There are around 1382 scholarships in USA for international students available in undergraduate and graduate programs. Among all the US scholarships, 1210 are college-specific and 172 are not specific to a college. Some of the popular scholarships for studying in the USA are Global Study Awards, Tata Scholarship, BrokerFish International student scholarship, QS Undergraduate Scholarship, etc. Students can check below the list of universities with their scholarships:

University Name	Name of Scholarship	Amount Offered
University of Houston	Jack and D'Ann Burke International Scholarship	Up to INR 82,940
	Transfer Possibilities Scholarship	Up to INR 12,38,250
California State University Chico Campus	California State University Chico Campus	Up to INR 9,12,340
	Dale M. Schoettler Scholarship for Visually Impaired Students	Up to INR 8,25,500
The University of Utah	The University of Utah- President's Scholarship	Up to INR 8,30,800
	The University of Utah- Flagship Scholarship	Up to INR 11,63,120

Also read: Scholarships to Study in the USA for International Students 2023-2024

Jobs after Studying in USA

Some of the top job sectors for graduates in the USA are given as follows:

• Healthcare
• Information Technology
• Real estate development
• Retail
• Education

Name of University	Average Salary
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)	USD 165,000 or INR 1.4 Cr
Harvard University	USD 175,000 or INR 1.5 Cr
Stanford University	USD 175,000 or INR 1.5 Cr
University of California, Berkeley (UCB)	USD 155,000 or INR 1.3 Cr
University of Chicago	USD 82,000 or INR 68.1 L

(USD 1 = INR 83.09)

Also read: Jobs in USA for international students

Is studying in India better than studying in the USA?

Both India and the USA have different education systems. In India, the teaching methods are more theoretical and the US Universities offer world-class facilities with research labs and modern equipment. US universities are more diverse, with students from different countries, cultures, and backgrounds. In India, the student body is predominantly local. Check below the list of Top Universities in India and Top Universities in the USA:

Top 3 Universities in India	Top 3 Universities in the USA
Indian Institute of Science	Harvard University
Jawaharlal Nehru University	Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Jamia Millia Islamia	Stanford University

Chandra Shekhar Singh Sengar02-18-2024 16:29