How to Access the Best US Universities With an EB-5

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RIF Trust on the Educational Benefits of Acquiring an EB-5

Our Chief Operating Officer is David Regueiro. He is currently on a Mexican tour, explaining the advantages of the US EB-5 Investor Visa to LATAM HNWIs. These include premier access to the best US universities.

“If you want your children to reach the top rungs of the career ladder,” Regueiro argues, “they’re going to need the firmest of foundations.”

“Foundations don’t come much firmer than an American education.”

Our COO wraps up his analysis: “US universities are famous all around the world. One thinks of the likes of Harvard, Princeton, and Stanford. Yet an EB-5 offers other benefits too. These include eligibility for American citizenship and a United States passport following 5 years of residency in the country.”

The Times Higher Education (THE) Best US Universities Reveal

The THE World University Rankings 2024 grades 1,907 universities from 108 countries and regions. Times Higher Education started rating universities in 2004. This makes the latest rankings the 20th edition.

There are 169 US institutions in the overall rankings. This makes the United States the country with the most representatives. It also has the most in the top 200, 56 in total.

In 2023, THE unleashed the new World University Rankings methodology (WUR 3.0). This now analyses performance indicators including:

1. Teaching Reputation
2. Student Staff Ratio
3. Doctorate Bachelor Ratio
4. Doctorate Staff Ratio
5. Institutional Income
6. Research Reputation
7. Research Income
8. Research Productivity
9. Citation Impact
10. Research Strength
11. Research Excellence
12. Research Influence
13. Industry Income
14. Patents
15. International Students
16. International Staff
17. International Co-authorship

7 American universities make THE’s 2024 Top 10. Let’s review them in ascending order below.

10.) Yale University

In 10th position is Connecticut’s Yale University. THE award Yale an overall 94.2 ranking. This private Ivy League institution, the third oldest in the country, is one of the best US universities in terms of Research Quality (97.7) but falls down on its International Outlook (82.4)

Although Yale currently has 2,841 international students from 121 countries enrolled, this represents a little over 20% of the total admissions. This means that roughly 4/5ths of the student population is made up of American students. To stack the odds in your favour, you’re going to fare better with a domestic application after you secure an EB-5.

Your children will join celebrated alumni such as former US presidents Gerald Ford, Georges Bush, and Bill Clinton. Clinton met his future wife, Hillary, in the Yale University Library. Other alumnus names include noted TV historian Henry Louis Gates Jr. alongside actors Jodie Foster and Lupita Nyong’o.

It comes as little surprise then that Yale is highly regarded for “its excellent drama and music programs”, according to U.S. News. Yale began as a religious university specializing in theological studies in 1701 before branching out into humanities and sciences in the run-up to the American Revolution of 1775-1783. These days, 22% of its graduates select Social Sciences as their major.

9.) University of California, Berkeley

UC Berkeley takes 9th place. It’s overall rating is 94.6. This public land-grant research university, established in 1868, joins the ranks of best US universities due to its Industry income (99.4) but its International Outlook (86.8) brings down its average.

Berkeley International Office oversees the foreign students attending this Californian institution. Yet they cannot complete the paperwork that will enable your children to study there as overseas scholars. These include Form I-20, “Certificate of Eligibility for Nonimmigrant Student Status”.

29 University of California, Berkeley alumni have won the coveted Nobel Prize. Actor Chris Pine graduated in 2002 and has since starred in Star Trek. Two decades previously, 1986 to be precise, future Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak completed his education at UC Berkeley.

This explains why THE consider University of California, Berkeley to be the 4th best global institution to study Business and Economics in 2024. Overall, UC Berkeley earns a 91.9 score. A 95.2 Research Quality rating boosts its average.

7.) California Institute of Technology

2 places above is fellow Golden State university, the California Institute of Technology AKA Caltech. This private research university, dating back to its 1891 formation as Throop, establishes its credentials as one of the best US universities thanks to an overall 96.5 ranking. While its Industry Income is a maximum 100, its International Outlook is a more lowly 90.6.

As English is the language of instruction at Caltech, you can help your children bypass the proficiency exams by applying for an EB-5 Visa in advance. This will see your offspring attend a US high school where they will accelerate their understanding of American English which has some subtle yet important differences to the British version of the language. That way they can skip sitting IELTS, TOEFL, or Duolingo English Tests.

Caltech is where The Big Bang Theory‘s Sheldon and Leonard work at. Indeed, Sheldon is a California Institute of Technology alumni too. Real-life former students include astronaut C. Gordon Fullerton, US Senator Harrison Schmitt (the only geologist to have walked on the moon), and astrophysicist France A. Córdova.

The California Institute of Technology is a compact institution with under a 1,000 undergraduates. There is 1 faculty member for every 3 students. A mere 1 in 10 of undergrads don’t participate in research.

6.) Princeton University

Moving on to 6th spot and we find New Jersey’s Princeton University. Its 2024 overall rating is 96.9, cementing its reputation as one of the best US universities. Princeton’s highest performance indicator is Research Quality (98.8) while it dips to 89.1 for International Outlook.

The Davis International Center is the go-to resource for overseas students. As dependents on your EB-5 Visa application, your children will not be classed as a foreign student. They will not require the F-1 visa to study in the US.

This private Ivy League research university was founded in 1746 and living alumni number around the 100,000 mark. Two US presidents, James Madison (the Father of the Constitution) and Woodrow Wilson graduated from Princeton, as did First Lady Michelle Obama. Princeton has also nurtured stars of screens big and small in Brooke Shields, David Duchovny, and James Stewart.

THE regards Princeton as a top 10 university in 4 faculties. In 2024, Times Higher Education places America’s fourth-oldest university in 9th place for Computer Science and 7th for Life Sciences. For Arts and Humanities along with Engineering it’s in 8th position.

4.) Harvard University

4th-placed Harvard University is one of the best US universities and also the oldest due it being established in 1636. THE mark its overall rating as 97.8. Harvard scores 99.4 for Research Quality but 84.2 for Industry Income.

It’s true there are no quotas for overseas applicants at Harvard. In addition, there are no English proficiency exams to take. However, your children are expected to be fluent in the language and there can be no better preparation than previous enrolment in a school in the US.

7 US presidents, most recently Barack Obama, are Harvard alumni. Other notable former students of this private Ivy League research institution in Cambridge, Massachusetts are from the arts such as the world of music’s Leonard Bernstein and actors Matt Damon and Natalie Portman. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg studied at Harvard in the early Noughties.

America’s first university ranks 6th in Computer Science and 5th in Arts and Humanities. It comes 3rd in Business and Economics. Yet its highest rating in 2024, 2nd, is reserved for Clinical and Health.

3.) Massachusetts Institute of Technology

In the same state and city as Harvard is 3rd-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This private land-grant research institution enjoys a 97.9 THE rating. It scores a maximum 100 for Industry Income and a more than respectable 93.8 for International Outlook

When it comes to applications, timing is key. If you and your family have not received a Green Card yet, your children will be classed as international students. MIT doesn’t view them as overseas applicants if you’re all in possession of US permanent residency or citizenship.

Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin is a MIT alumni. As is one-time UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Meanwhile, Esther Duflo, Economics Nobel Laureate earned her PhD at MIT before becoming a professor there.

Befitting its position in 3rd place of the THE World University Rankings 2024, MIT comes 3rd in Computer Science and Engineering. It’s perhaps surprisingly in 2nd place in Arts and Humanities. In 2024, it’s the world leader in Business and Economics, confirming its reputation as one of the best US universities.

2.) Stanford University

The highest-ranked American institution is Stanford University. THE grade this Californian private research university a 98. It has 100 rating for Industry Income but its International Outlook is 13 points lower.

While the Bechter International Center can advise on visas, they can’t physically fill them in. You can avoid any extra bureaucracy by investing in an EB-5 ahead of time. Nevertheless, Stanford will change your children’s status from overseas applicant to domestic one should you and your family receive your green cards after submitting the university application.

Larry Page, with a net worth of over $100 billion, graduated from Stanford in 1998 and went on to set up Google with Sergey Brin. Actor Reese Witherspoon is another famous alumni. If your child shows athletic promise, they could qualify for a sports scholarship to one of the best US universities like legendary golfer Tiger Woods received.

Stanford leads the way in Arts and Humanities in 2024. It’s the 2nd-best institution to study Business and Economics and Computer Science. Stanford comes in 5th for Clinical and Health in the latest rankings.

How to Invest in a Better Education for Your Children

Interestingly, the 3 other top 10 universities, Imperial College London, University of Cambridge, and University of Oxford are all in the UK. Residency by Investment is a solution here too, in the form of the UK Innovator Founder Visa.  So, contact us now and we’ll show you how to determine which new residency will most suit your children’s educational needs.