The Best California Big Colleges

These are the top ranked large, public and private, four-year colleges in California as ranked by CollegeSimply. These schools all have total enrollment of 20,000 or more. Leading the list for 2027 is University of Southern California. Learn how the Best Large Colleges rankings are calculated on our ranking methodology page.

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California Large Public Private 4 Year

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California State University Los Angeles

Public 4 Year
Los Angeles, CA
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23,163 total enrollment

Cal State LA is a large public university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and criminal justice. The urban campus sits in the hills east of downtown Los Angeles.

#26 Best Public Universities in California 4/10 Overall Rating

SAT Range 870-1060
Avg GPA 3.31
Acceptance Rate 91%
Net Price $4,460

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All Admissions Chances Matches for my GPA and SAT/ACT scores includes reach target and safety schools.

Within Academic Range Colleges where your GPA and SAT/ACT are within typical range of admitted students, irrespective of admission rate.

Target Schools Colleges where you have a good chance but acceptance is not certain. Your scores fall within the middle 50% and the school typically admits over 15% of all applicants.

Reach Schools Colleges where your scores are below the 25th percentile, or highly selective schools where my score is within the average but the college typically admits less than 15% of applicants.

Safety Schools Colleges where your scores exceed the 75th percentile and you have a greater than 50% chance of admission.

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Small Under 3,000 total enrollment

Medium 3,000 to 19,999 total enrollment

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