Best Value Private Colleges
Top 50 private colleges ranked by value score. Higher sticker price doesn't always mean higher cost — generous financial aid can make private schools surprisingly affordable.
#1
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA·private
Earnings
$128,566
Net Price
$16,075/yr
Grad Rate
94%
100
Value
#2
San Diego Christian College
Santee, CA·private
Earnings
$49,766
Net Price
$992/yr
Grad Rate
21%
100
Value
#3
Humphreys University
Stockton, CA·private
Earnings
$39,248
Net Price
$5,524/yr
Grad Rate
67%
100
Value
#4
Yale University
New Haven, CT·private
Earnings
$100,533
Net Price
$23,777/yr
Grad Rate
96%
100
Value
#5
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL·private
Earnings
$91,885
Net Price
$14,860/yr
Grad Rate
95%
100
Value
#6
Trinity International University-Illinois
Deerfield, IL·private
Earnings
$46,989
Net Price
$2,835/yr
Grad Rate
46%
100
Value
#7
Berea College
Berea, KY·private
Earnings
$43,150
Net Price
$6,106/yr
Grad Rate
60%
100
Value
#8
Bowdoin College
Brunswick, ME·private
Earnings
$82,735
Net Price
$14,398/yr
Grad Rate
95%
100
Value
#9
Colby College
Waterville, ME·private
Earnings
$80,490
Net Price
$17,180/yr
Grad Rate
89%
100
Value
#10
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD·private
Earnings
$87,555
Net Price
$18,809/yr
Grad Rate
94%
100
Value
#11
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA·private
Earnings
$101,817
Net Price
$19,066/yr
Grad Rate
97%
100
Value
#12
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA·private
Earnings
$143,372
Net Price
$20,111/yr
Grad Rate
96%
100
Value
#13
Williams College
Williamstown, MA·private
Earnings
$88,665
Net Price
$17,716/yr
Grad Rate
95%
100
Value
#14
College of the Ozarks
Point Lookout, MO·private
Earnings
$41,592
Net Price
$6,100/yr
Grad Rate
62%
100
Value
#15
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ·private
Earnings
$110,066
Net Price
$6,128/yr
Grad Rate
97%
100
Value
#16
Columbia University in the City of New York
New York, NY·private
Earnings
$102,491
Net Price
$21,590/yr
Grad Rate
96%
100
Value
#17
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art
New York, NY·private
Earnings
$83,847
Net Price
$13,269/yr
Grad Rate
81%
100
Value
#18
Kehilath Yakov Rabbinical Seminary
Ossining, NY·private
Earnings
$36,442
Net Price
$3,822/yr
Grad Rate
54%
100
Value
#19
Davidson College
Davidson, NC·private
Earnings
$81,400
Net Price
$17,379/yr
Grad Rate
91%
100
Value
#20
Turtle Mountain College
Belcourt, ND·private
Earnings
$32,079
Net Price
$3,428/yr
Grad Rate
49%
100
Value
#21
Mount Carmel College of Nursing
Columbus, OH·private
Earnings
$75,103
Net Price
$10,420/yr
Grad Rate
64%
100
Value
#22
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN·private
Earnings
$91,565
Net Price
$15,846/yr
Grad Rate
93%
100
Value
#23
Rice University
Houston, TX·private
Earnings
$89,718
Net Price
$13,370/yr
Grad Rate
95%
100
Value
#24
Stanford University
Stanford, CA·private
Earnings
$124,080
Net Price
$13,807/yr
Grad Rate
92%
100
Value
#25
College of Biblical Studies-Houston
Houston, TX·private
Earnings
$39,260
Net Price
$672/yr
Grad Rate
40%
100
Value
#26
Franklin W Olin College of Engineering
Needham, MA·private
Earnings
$129,455
Net Price
$25,171/yr
Grad Rate
94%
100
Value
#27
Uta Mesivta of Kiryas Joel
Monroe, NY·private
Earnings
$31,853
Net Price
$4,156/yr
Grad Rate
74%
100
Value
#28
Brigham Young University
Provo, UT·private
Earnings
$75,790
Net Price
$15,564/yr
Grad Rate
82%
99
Value
#29
Pomona College
Claremont, CA·private
Earnings
$77,779
Net Price
$19,285/yr
Grad Rate
93%
94
Value
#30
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA·private
Earnings
$111,371
Net Price
$28,699/yr
Grad Rate
97%
94
Value
#31
Washington and Lee University
Lexington, VA·private
Earnings
$94,810
Net Price
$23,781/yr
Grad Rate
94%
94
Value
#32
Washington University in St Louis
St. Louis, MO·private
Earnings
$86,182
Net Price
$21,786/yr
Grad Rate
94%
93
Value
#33
Harvey Mudd College
Claremont, CA·private
Earnings
$138,687
Net Price
$35,924/yr
Grad Rate
93%
90
Value
#34
Brigham Young University-Idaho
Rexburg, ID·private
Earnings
$53,406
Net Price
$8,221/yr
Grad Rate
55%
90
Value
#35
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN·private
Earnings
$99,980
Net Price
$26,780/yr
Grad Rate
96%
90
Value
#36
Brown University
Providence, RI·private
Earnings
$93,487
Net Price
$25,184/yr
Grad Rate
96%
89
Value
#37
Humacao Community College
Humacao, PR·private
Earnings
$20,064
Net Price
$2,508/yr
Grad Rate
44%
89
Value
#38
Dewey University-Manati
Manati, PR·private
Earnings
$19,761
Net Price
$3,872/yr
Grad Rate
69%
88
Value
#39
Homestead Schools
Torrance, CA·private
Earnings
$59,398
Net Price
$15,962/yr
Grad Rate
94%
87
Value
#40
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY·private
Earnings
$104,043
Net Price
$28,690/yr
Grad Rate
95%
86
Value
#41
Claremont McKenna College
Claremont, CA·private
Earnings
$104,736
Net Price
$28,849/yr
Grad Rate
93%
85
Value
#42
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA·private
Earnings
$114,862
Net Price
$31,944/yr
Grad Rate
93%
84
Value
#43
Yeshiva Toras Chaim
Lakewood, NJ·private
Earnings
$62,526
Net Price
$5,356/yr
Grad Rate
29%
84
Value
#44
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL·private
Earnings
$82,592
Net Price
$18,425/yr
Grad Rate
74%
83
Value
#45
Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Winona, MN·private
Earnings
$58,170
Net Price
$11,704/yr
Grad Rate
67%
83
Value
#46
Emory University
Atlanta, GA·private
Earnings
$80,137
Net Price
$22,585/yr
Grad Rate
91%
81
Value
#47
University of St Francis
Joliet, IL·private
Earnings
$63,926
Net Price
$13,006/yr
Grad Rate
66%
81
Value
#48
Swarthmore College
Swarthmore, PA·private
Earnings
$80,257
Net Price
$23,149/yr
Grad Rate
93%
81
Value
#49
Christian Brothers University
Memphis, TN·private
Earnings
$57,478
Net Price
$9,854/yr
Grad Rate
55%
81
Value
#50
Talmudical Seminary of Bobov
Brooklyn, NY·private
Earnings
$22,432
Net Price
$2,840/yr
Grad Rate
41%
81
Value