Kiplinger's Best Values in Private Colleges

October 2011

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.

UPDATE: Kiplinger's has learned that Claremont McKenna College unfairly earned its place as 18^th-ranked private liberal arts college in our college rankings by reporting inflated SAT scores. We have dropped the college from our 2011-12 rankings of best values in liberal arts colleges and moved schools 19-100 up one slot. Bennington College has been added to the top 100. For more information, see http://www.claremontportside.com/cmc-office-of-admission-cheated-on-sats/

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How We Ranked the Top Private College Values
FAQs about Kiplinger's Best Values in Private Colleges
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	Princeton University, Princeton	NJ	9%	6	90.1%	$50,269	$34,719	$0	0%	$5,225
2	Yale University, New Haven	CT	8	6	89	53,700	38,914	0	0	9,254
3	California Institute of Technology, Pasadena	CA	13	3	80.7	50,703	31,030	40,888	5	10,760
4	Rice University, Houston	TX	21	6	82.5	48,621	27,671	14,772	33	13,944
5	Harvard University, Cambridge	MA	7	7	87.2	53,652	39,156	0	0	10,102
6	University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia	PA	14	6	88.4	55,136	32,443	0	0	17,013
7	Duke University, Durham	NC	19	8	86.8	55,245	35,578	21,158	13	21,884
8	Columbia University, New York	NY	10	6	87.9	59,208	38,356	0	0	NA
9	Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge	MA	10	8	84.5	53,557	35,504	0	0	15,228
10	Stanford University, Stanford	CA	7	6	78.4	54,798	37,930	3,329	25	14,058
11	Brown University, Providence	RI	9	9	85.6	54,494	33,861	11,600	0†	22,468
12	University of Richmond, University of Richmond	VA	33	9	81.3	53,470	35,002	23,209	26	23,070
13	Emory University, Atlanta	GA	29	7	82	53,892	31,710	20,859	13	26,311
14	Dartmouth College, Hanover	NH	12	8	88.1	57,376	36,401	0	0	18,792
15	Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis	MO	21	7	85.6	55,966	29,457	6,893	20	NA
16	University of Chicago, Chicago	IL	19	7	86.5	58,955	35,540	7,772	NA	22,359
17	Georgetown University, Washington	DC	20	10	87	55,818	30,715	0	0	25,315
18	University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame	IN	29	12	90.1	54,267	28,184	7,871	7	30,341
19	Vanderbilt University, Nashville	TN	18	8	85.1	57,118	36,352	22,182	17	18,605
20	Northwestern University, Evanston	IL	23	7	86.3	56,560	28,910	3,064	9	20,959
21	Cornell University, Ithaca	NY	18	9	85.9	55,501	32,511	0	0	20,648
22	Boston College, Chestnut Hill	MA	31	14	87.2	55,978	27,691	16,604	4	20,598
23	Brandeis University, Waltham	MA	35	9	84	54,954	27,772	23,117	24	21,351
24	Tufts University, Medford	MA	24	9	84.9	55,274	29,916	500	3	27,443
25	The Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore	MD	21	12	84.4	56,942	25,595	27,491	2	24,307
26	Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem	NC	40	11	83	54,011	27,995	15,023	17	32,237
27	Trinity University, San Antonio	TX	63	9	68.1	43,322	19,487	13,234	67	NA
28	Clark University, Worcester	MA	69	10	73.2	41,250	23,789	13,763	63	24,000
29	Lehigh University, Bethlehem	PA	38	10	77.2	52,800	29,498	10,232	11	31,922
30	Gonzaga University, Spokane	WA	78	10	68.4	41,622	17,477	10,673	82	27,136
31	Villanova University, Villanova	PA	45	11	85.2	53,940	23,525	10,361	10	37,267
32	The George Washington University, Washington	DC	37	13	86.6	55,748	27,633	13,050	19	32,547
33	Bentley University, Waltham	MA	46	14	79.3	51,948	23,502	15,176	27	32,710
34	Elon University, Elon	NC	49	13	74.6	36,375	10,846	5,380	31	27,163
35	Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester	MA	59	14	71.7	52,964	18,707	16,005	77	NA
36	University of Miami, Coral Gables	FL	39	11	68.1	52,222	23,552	19,971	30	26,438
37	Emerson College, Boston	MA	42	12	76	47,126	15,444	12,713	14	17,459
38	Marist College, Poughkeepsie	NY	40	15	73.2	42,590	16,909	7,180	43	25,135
39	University of Southern California, Los Angeles	CA	24	9	71.7	56,396	24,777	15,639	25	30,090
40	Tulane University, New Orleans	LA	26	11	58.5	53,306	25,204	21,316	38	27,510
41	Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland	OH	67	9	64.8	52,683	23,585	19,476	50	39,236
42	University of Rochester, Rochester	NY	38	9	68.8	55,196	28,429	10,258	46	28,100
43	Northeastern University, Boston	MA	38	13	NA	52,362	15,619	9,430	49	NA
44	Santa Clara University, Santa Clara	CA	58	13	80.4	52,701	18,666	11,557	42	25,575
45	Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh	PA	33	12	69.2	56,120	24,819	11,851	14	30,744
46	University of Portland, Portland	OR	65	13	66.9	45,070	18,359	12,119	65	26,831
47	American University, Washington	DC	43	13	74.6	52,773	14,487	18,780	29	36,206
48	Providence College, Providence	RI	67	12	84.4	54,070	18,866	26,763	17	32,850
49	University of Denver, Denver	CO	72	9	63.4	50,273	22,351	12,114	54	25,578
50	Boston University, Boston	MA	58	13	80.7	55,050	23,454	19,843	11	31,809
51	Syracuse University, Syracuse	NY	60	16	72.8	52,243	22,250	9,100	25	30,813
52	Pepperdine University, Malibu	CA	31	13	71.1	53,796	37,160	17,071	13	31,429
53	Stevens Institute of Technology, Hoboken	NJ	51	7	30.2	53,720	12,871	9,973	29	14,113
54	Marquette University, Milwaukee	WI	62	15	62	43,122	15,219	8,480	63	32,824
55	Loyola University Maryland, Baltimore	MD	55	13	76.3	53,720	17,910	13,980	23	26,740
56	Southern Methodist University, Dallas	TX	59	12	60.1	53,445	18,433	15,334	50	24,569
57	New York University, New York	NY	38	11	78.3	57,858	18,459	6,920	12	41,300
58	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy	NY	40	16	64.5	57,179	22,831	12,958	85	30,125
59	Fordham University, New York	NY	50	13	74.6	56,160	18,140	10,264	41	33,365
60	Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles	CA	54	11	71.1	52,506	18,301	10,310	23	29,906
61	Union University, Jackson	TN	42	10	74.4	31,950	29,907	10,538	20	25,621
62	Whitworth University, Spokane	WA	54	11	67.2	41,564	17,804	10,780	49	22,540
63	Creighton University, Omaha	NE	78	11	65.4	42,132	19,622	12,524	64	32,152
64	Drake University, Des Moines	IA	65	13	62.1	37,692	14,579	11,072	71	35,027
65	Samford University, Birmingham	AL	87	12	54	32,738	12,791	7,742	30	20,328
66	Drury University, Springfield	MO	68	12	54.6	29,490	6,885	415	81	20,500
67	Point Loma Nazarene University, San Diego	CA	55	15	63.9	38,766	14,436	6,556	43	25,607
68	Brigham Young University, Provo	UT	64	21	31.4	17,280	5,491	3,436	41	13,354
69	Bradley University, Peoria	IL	72	15	54.1	35,954	12,988	6,718	74	18,887
70	Ithaca College, Ithaca	NY	69	12	69.5	49,472	19,199	9,716	59	NA
71	Xavier University, Cincinnati	OH	69	12	69.8	42,080	13,747	11,130	58	25,881
72	Baylor University, Waco	TX	48	14	50.2	41,712	16,079	9,913	68	NA
73	Franciscan University of Steubenville, Steubenville	OH	75	15	56.7	29,520	8,526	4,366	31	32,380
74	Rollins College, Winter Park	FL	56	10	59.3	51,220	29,649	16,999	33	25,294
75	Yeshiva University, New York	NY	72	6	45.5	47,074	20,988	18,543	23	21,654
76	Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport	LA	60	10	51.3	35,220	18,453	9,767	78	22,920
77	Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester	NY	60	13	28.4	43,700	16,000	8,000	NA	23,800
78	Saint Michael's College, Colchester	VT	82	12	73	46,470	16,639	9,960	70	29,410
79	Lebanon Valley College, Annville	PA	70	13	69	43,000	19,787	12,532	51	32,428
80	George Fox University, Newberg	OR	69	13	59.2	39,380	15,040	7,016	14	18,428
81	John Carroll University, University Heights	OH	81	13	63.4	42,000	19,440	10,152	73	28,830
82	Hood College, Frederick	MD	86	12	66.1	42,320	20,186	13,967	44	17,144
83	Baker University, Baldwin City	KS	50	13	49.3	31,830	11,940	10,445	73	23,500
84	Butler University, Indianapolis	IN	73	11	55.8	43,278	16,943	11,452	76	30,581
85	University of Tulsa, Tulsa	OK	39	11	46.8	42,039	6,433	14,777	61	NA
86	Rockhurst University, Kansas City	MO	78	11	60.1	37,160	6,962	13,392	16	24,841
87	Indiana Wesleyan University, Marion	IN	67	15	54.6	30,370	12,723	7,388	59	28,657
88	Chapman University, Orange	CA	50	14	50.5	54,262	24,076	17,256	32	23,917
89	Seattle University, Seattle	WA	71	13	58.7	43,995	15,010	9,985	13	26,607
90	University of Dayton, Dayton	OH	77	15	58.3	42,590	12,490	9,961	80	35,421
91	Illinois Institute of Technology, Chicago	IL	64	10	49	46,689	22,054	14,481	77	NA
92	Valparaiso University, Valparaiso	IN	85	13	59.8	40,996	17,177	9,427	70	33,024
93	Maryville University of Saint Louis, St. Louis	MO	73	12	51.3	33,374	10,798	7,051	10	22,636
94	Canisius College, Buffalo	NY	78	12	59.5	42,773	19,366	14,220	53	33,918
95	University of San Diego, San Diego	CA	51	15	60.1	51,990	22,077	13,525	27	29,928
96	University of St. Thomas, St. Paul	MN	85	15	61.2	44,600	15,632	12,598	23	32,705
97	Manhattan College, Riverdale	NY	63	12	63.9	41,520	7,177	8,187	32	18,816
98	Loyola University New Orleans, New Orleans	LA	57	10	48.2	45,362	20,219	14,681	69	22,319
99	Baldwin-Wallace College, Berea	OH	65	15	53	35,076	15,052	8,923	37	30,096
100	Bethel University, St. Paul	MN	80	12	58	39,000	14,664	5,908	38	32,698

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.
SOURCE - Peterson's Undergraduate Database. © 2011 Peterson's/Nelnet LLC. All rights reserved.