Tool | October 2012

Kiplinger's Best Values in Private Colleges

Compare the 200 top values in liberal-arts colleges or private universities, or create your own custom lists of colleges from our rankings or schools from a particular state. Use the arrows at the top of any column of data to rank any list of colleges by cost and financial-aid measures. For more information on a particular college, click the college's name.

(Note: Since the publication of our annual rankings of the best values in liberal-arts colleges, Bucknell University has acknowledged misreporting test scores for its students. As a result, Kiplinger’s has removed the school from this year’s rankings.)

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How We Ranked the Top Private College Values
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Guide to the Tables

Rank	Name	State	Admit rate	Student per faculty	4-yr grad. rate	Total cost per yr.	Avg need- based aid	Avg non-need- based aid	% of non-need- based aid*	Avg debt at graduation
1	Swarthmore College, Swarthmore	PA	15%	8	91.3%	$56,930	$36,385	$38,548	1%	$16,975
2	Pomona College, Claremont	CA	14	8	90.8	55,864	35,883	0	0	10,580
3	Washington and Lee University, Lexington	VA	18	9	87.7	54,612	35,834	31,378	15	24,716
4	Amherst College, Amherst	MA	13	8	87	55,098	41,991	0	0	12,713
5	Colgate University, Hamilton	NY	29	9	87.8	56,755	36,192	0	0	19,721
6	Williams College, Williamstown	MA	17	7	89	57,570	37,836	0	0	8,801
7	Bowdoin College, Brunswick	ME	16	9	88.1	56,950	35,975	1,000	9	17,569
8	Davidson College, Davidson	NC	28	11	88	53,155	27,829	19,915	15	24,972
9	Vassar College, Poughkeepsie	NY	22	8	88.4	57,910	38,285	0	0	18,150
10	Haverford College, Haverford	PA	25	8	91.1	58,186	37,515	0	0	16,525
11	The Colorado College, Colorado Springs	CO	25	10	82.9	53,034	29,708	7,854	12	19,970
12	Colby College, Waterville	ME	29	10	86.5	56,400	34,993	3,357	4	22,367
13	Middlebury College, Middlebury	VT	18	9	84.4	53,800	33,520	2,500	0†	20,514
14	Claremont McKenna College, Claremont	CA	14	9	84.9	58,965	36,889	13,752	11	15,936
15	Wellesley College, Wellesley	MA	30	8	86.3	55,914	36,971	0	0	13,579
16	Scripps College, Claremont	CA	36	11	83.2	55,700	33,045	21,923	18	22,466
17	Grinnell College, Grinnell	IA	50	9	83.1	51,518	32,282	11,582	49	15,720
18	Wesleyan University, Middletown	CT	24	9	87.1	57,006	36,316	42,365	2	25,864
19	Carleton College, Northfield	MN	30	9	88.2	56,749	30,260	2,617	14	19,341
20	Hillsdale College, Hillsdale	MI	41	10	70.1	30,620	7,860	10,100	76	16,600
21	Denison University, Granville	OH	48	10	76.4	53,290	28,999	16,283	89	NA
22	Hamilton College, Clinton	NY	27	9	84.1	56,920	33,795	0	0	20,262
23	Centre College, Danville	KY	70	11	81.3	45,100	23,011	16,280	93	26,700
24	Kenyon College, Gambier	OH	33	10	82.9	56,560	32,723	11,392	23	19,480
25	College of the Holy Cross, Worcester	MA	33	10	89.2	55,830	29,630	26,927	2	26,434
26	Bates College, Lewiston	ME	27	10	87.6	58,985	34,860	0	0	20,706
27	Macalester College, St. Paul	MN	34	10	82.5	54,469	30,331	9,330	14	21,123
28	Rhodes College, Memphis	TN	50	10	72.5	48,721	25,727	15,896	80	26,147
29	Barnard College, New York	NY	24	10	83.7	58,458	35,335	0	0	17,360
30	Trinity College, Hartford	CT	30	10	82	58,530	37,923	36,743	2	20,367
31	Lafayette College, Easton	PA	40	11	85.2	55,988	31,134	19,756	12	24,441
32	Whitman College, Walla Walla	WA	53	10	79.8	54,086	25,938	8,513	54	17,711
33	Sewanee: The University of the South, Sewanee	TN	61	10	80.5	45,430	19,725	13,315	15	22,480
34	DePauw University, Greencastle	IN	57	10	80.2	49,700	25,718	16,638	92	22,755
35	Wheaton College, Wheaton	IL	64	12	79.4	39,496	16,076	4,424	26	23,022
36	Wofford College, Spartanburg	SC	64	11	75.3	45,675	27,668	14,432	63	24,355
37	Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr	PA	46	8	81.6	56,564	32,303	12,550	18	22,830
38	Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs	NY	42	9	81.7	57,064	31,789	10,000	2	21,000
39	Smith College, Northampton	MA	45	9	80.5	56,120	33,487	15,702	11	22,531
40	School Removed From Rankings	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-
41	Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley	MA	51	9	79.8	54,546	31,661	15,718	39	23,254
42	Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter	MN	64	11	78.9	47,306	23,250	12,657	89	28,401
43	Kalamazoo College, Kalamazoo	MI	68	14	79.3	46,884	19,121	10,092	86	24,586
44	Oberlin College, Oberlin	OH	29	9	75.2	57,855	28,813	10,917	66	16,812
45	Christendom College, Front Royal	VA	82	15	88.8	29,570	7,020	7,065	46	24,060
46	St. Olaf College, Northfield	MN	52	12	80.8	49,650	25,267	11,052	54	25,440
47	Occidental College, Los Angeles	CA	38	10	80.7	57,028	32,136	10,663	42	27,119
48	Connecticut College, New London	CT	34	9	80.4	57,790	32,024	0	0	30,505
49	Pitzer College, Claremont	CA	24	12	75.2	58,266	33,775	4,821	4	22,568
50	Austin College, Sherman	TX	52	13	68.9	44,797	20,365	15,057	86	NA
51	Gettysburg College, Gettysburg	PA	39	10	80.2	55,270	28,379	10,169	31	29,067
52	Millsaps College, Jackson	MS	60	9	61.2	40,894	20,433	17,132	87	25,902
53	Harvey Mudd College, Claremont	CA	22	8	74.9	59,713	30,475	11,087	45	25,265
54	Illinois Wesleyan University, Bloomington	IL	60	11	77.2	47,592	19,297	12,887	81	31,091
55	Principia College, Elsah	IL	61	8	74	36,060	23,055	14,885	26	18,462
56	Union College, Schenectady	NY	42	10	78.5	56,831	31,184	9,390	39	26,252
57	Knox College, Galesburg	IL	71	12	69.5	45,324	21,332	12,009	88	28,169
58	Dickinson College, Carlisle	PA	41	10	81.9	56,754	29,363	10,874	23	26,928
59	Furman University, Greenville	SC	83	11	82.6	53,241	27,114	16,796	54	26,600
60	Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster	PA	38	10	80.6	57,310	30,597	11,222	14	31,617
61	Thomas Aquinas College, Santa Paula	CA	78	11	64.4	31,850	14,407	0	0	16,582
62	Allegheny College, Meadville	PA	57	12	75.6	48,150	22,848	13,008	87	NA
63	Transylvania University, Lexington	KY	84	11	66.3	39,615	18,673	12,077	90	24,679
64	The College of Wooster, Wooster	OH	60	11	68.3	50,701	25,215	17,826	84	25,163
65	Muhlenberg College, Allentown	PA	43	12	78.8	52,160	22,081	10,806	53	26,270
66	Wheaton College, Norton	MA	61	10	73	53,014	28,511	11,555	34	23,022
67	Hope College, Holland	MI	82	12	68.6	37,190	17,714	7,627	56	29,349
68	Lewis & Clark College, Portland	OR	66	12	66.3	51,863	26,166	10,631	35	22,956
69	Southwestern University, Georgetown	TX	64	10	57.1	44,120	22,652	15,402	81	31,848
70	Ursinus College, Collegeville	PA	70	11	75.2	54,020	25,000	16,655	96	NA
71	Beloit College, Beloit	WI	70	12	66.3	46,936	23,733	14,634	64	26,771
72	Willamette University, Salem	OR	57	10	69.8	51,542	25,987	13,951	73	25,932
73	St. Lawrence University, Canton	NY	43	12	75.7	56,185	28,278	17,381	58	26,270
74	William Jewell College, Liberty	MO	54	11	57.6	39,160	19,113	12,213	80	29,444
75	Goshen College, Goshen	IN	59	11	58.2	36,800	15,542	9,838	97	16,775
76	Saint John's University, Collegeville	MN	74	11	72.7	45,125	20,228	12,406	74	35,814
77	College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor	ME	58	11	57.5	47,559	28,770	3,846	14	20,858
78	Agnes Scott College, Decatur	GA	45	11	58.1	44,691	24,435	18,247	78	26,148
79	University of Dallas, Irving	TX	87	12	66.8	42,660	18,234	13,576	86	21,078
80	Wabash College, Crawfordsville	IN	62	11	68.3	41,950	17,950	17,164	76	28,311
81	Lawrence University, Appleton	WI	52	8	60.3	49,170	23,207	12,496	73	32,838
82	The College of Idaho, Caldwell	ID	65	12	51	32,807	6,837	11,656	100	24,939
83	Cornell College, Mount Vernon	IA	45	13	65.2	43,220	22,760	14,273	79	27,805
84	Hanover College, Hanover	IN	68	12	69.4	40,398	20,340	13,016	80	27,325
85	Washington & Jefferson College, Washington	PA	42	11	69.5	49,272	10,845	12,670	78	NA
86	McDaniel College, Westminster	MD	75	11	70.1	45,140	23,935	17,264	72	29,023
87	University of Puget Sound, Tacoma	WA	51	12	66.7	51,640	23,565	10,760	70	28,524
88	College of Saint Benedict, Saint Joseph	MN	73	11	72.4	46,489	20,138	12,740	74	NA
89	Hendrix College, Conway	AR	82	12	63.9	47,780	22,545	18,631	98	24,388
90	Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham	AL	64	13	51.6	41,790	5,341	9,987	86	28,157
91	Westmont College, Santa Barbara	CA	61	11	75.3	50,360	22,046	11,086	85	30,940
92	Spelman College, Atlanta	GA	37	11	70.4	37,585	12,190	3,429	3	33,898
93	Hampden-Sydney College, Hampden-Sydney	VA	54	10	63.1	45,906	21,967	11,451	95	27,740
94	Luther College, Decorah	IA	71	12	58.3	43,360	19,436	13,716	36	32,107
95	Westminster College, New Wilmington	PA	60	12	62	41,080	20,499	15,887	55	33,236
96	Shimer College, Chicago	IL	47	9	50	41,856	13,889	6,525	33	33,500
97	Juniata College, Huntingdon	PA	71	13	71.6	46,180	21,165	15,016	72	30,109
98	Berea College, Berea	KY	12	11	42.6	7,646	25,905	0	0	7,661
99	Coe College, Cedar Rapids	IA	64	11	61.7	42,920	20,765	17,669	75	32,614
100	Augustana College, Rock Island	IL	61	11	69.8	44,398	17,349	13,324	88	NA

NA - Not available.
* Percentage of all undergraduates without need who received non-need-based aid.
† - Fewer than ten students who received non-need-based aid.
‡ - Due to hurricane Katrina we used 2004 cohort data.
SOURCE - Peterson's Undergraduate Database. © 2012 Peterson's/Nelnet LLC. All rights reserved.