With the first “early decision” college-application deadline looming on Nov. 1, and tuition and room and board at a four-year college costing around $27,000 to $55,000 per year, the personal-finance website WalletHub has released its 2022’s Best College & University Rankings report, as well as accompanying videos, in addition to separate rankings for colleges and for universities.

To help college-bound seniors make the most informed school choices, WalletHub compared over 1,000 higher-education institutions in the U.S. based on 30 key measures grouped into seven categories, such as Student Selectivity, Cost and Financing and Career Outcomes. The data set ranges from student-faculty ratio to graduation rate to post-attendance median salary.

To view the full reports, visit:

Best Colleges & Universities Overall: http://wallethub.com/edu/college-rankings/40750

Best Colleges: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-colleges-in-the-us-ranking/40748

Best Universities: https://wallethub.com/edu/best-worst-universities-in-usa-ranking/39704

Top 10 Colleges & Universities in California

California Institute of Technology came in as the top ranked college or university in the Golden State, followed by Stanford University, second; University of California-Berkeley, third; University of California-Los Angeles, fourth; Pomona College, fifth; University of California-Irvine, sixth; Claremont McKenna College, seventh; Harvey Mudd College, eighth; University of Southern California, ninth; and University of California-San Diego, rounding out the top ten.

With that in mind, here’s a closer look at some of the state’s top schools and how each performed in certain metrics:

School Snapshot: California Institute of Technology (1 = Best; 34 = Average; 67 = Worst):

• 2nd – Admission Rate

• 58th – Net Cost

• 1st – Student-Faculty Ratio

• 6th – On-Campus Crime

• 19th – Gender & Racial Diversity

• 4th – Graduation Rate

• 3rd – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: Stanford University (1 = Best; 34 = Average; 67 = Worst):

• 1st – Admission Rate

• 56th – Net Cost

• 2nd – Student-Faculty Ratio

• 22nd – On-Campus Crime

• 2nd – Gender & Racial Diversity

• 1st – Graduation Rate

• 1st – Post-Attendance Median Salary

School Snapshot: University of California-Berkeley (1 = Best; 34 = Average; 67 = Worst:

• 7th – Admission Rate

• 46th – Net Cost

• 45th – Student-Faculty Ratio

• 66th – On-Campus Crime

• 14th – Gender & Racial Diversity

• 4th – Graduation Rate

• 10th – Post-Attendance Median Salary