Data: Some of the Golden State's 'best' colleges and universities are in Southern California

Choosing the right step after high school is key -- and for some, that means pursuing higher education.

College-bound seniors, especially in today's day and age, have a plethora of options to choose from and even more metrics to sort their options. The stress of picking the right university or college can at times even exceed the stress of actually going there, but fortunately, newly compiled data by experts at WalletHub, a personal finance company, might make that decision a bit easier, especially for those hoping to attend a California institution.

WalletHub recently released their 2026 Best College and University Rankings report, which compared nearly 800 higher-ed facilities across the U.S. on 30 key measures that were grouped into seven categories: • Student selectivity (25 points