10 Best Values in Private Colleges Under $20K

10. Pepperdine University

Location: Malibu, Cal.

Undergraduate enrollment: 3,474

Total cost: $56,872

Average need-based aid: $38,389

Average net cost: $18,483

Kiplinger\'s rank: #47 among private universities

Founded in 1937 and dedicated to affirming Christian values, this school accepts students of all faiths. Pepperdine began life as a college and became a university in 1970; it opened its current Malibu campus, on 830 acres overlooking the Pacific Ocean, in 1972. Students here are eligible for both need-based and non-need-based aid; 75% receive some form of help with the college bills.

9. Wofford College

Location: Spartanburg, S.C.

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,536

Total cost: $45,675

Average need-based aid: $27,668

Average net cost: $18,007

Kiplinger\'s rank: #36 among liberal-arts colleges

One of the few pre-Civil War colleges to have operated continuously on the same campus since its founding, Wofford awards generous need-based aid to more than half of its students, knocking the average price after aid to less than half of the sticker price. But you don\'t have to qualify for need-based aid to get a break here: Wofford also offers an average of $14,432 in grants and scholarships to about two-thirds of the students who receive no other aid.

8. Thomas Aquinas College

Location: Santa Paula, Cal.

Undergraduate enrollment: 358

Total cost: $31,850

Average need-based aid: $14,407

Average net cost: $17,443

Kiplinger\'s rank: #61 among liberal-arts colleges

This tiny Catholic college offers a religion-based, liberal arts education and a gorgeous setting near the Los Padres National Forest, about 70 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Although the college does not offer merit aid, about three-fourths of its students qualify for need-based aid; Thomas Aquinas meets 100% of need. Students who don\'t qualify for financial aid benefit from the school\'s relatively modest sticker price, among the lowest on our lists of private colleges and universities.

7. Stanford University

Location: Stanford, Cal.

Undergraduate enrollment: 6,988

Total cost: $56,008

Average need-based aid: $39,105

Average net cost: $16,903

Kiplinger\'s rank: #8 among private universities

Thanks to world-class academics and an idyllic, historic campus in the Palo Alto area, 34 miles from San Francisco, this outstanding university attracts top students from around the world. Its admission rate (7%) is second only to Harvard for competitiveness. Stanford is one of the relatively few elite institutions to offer merit aid (an average of $5,701), but it saves most of its largesse for students with need, in no-loan financial aid awards that average almost $40,000.

6. Yale University

Location: New Haven, Conn.

Undergraduate enrollment: 5,349

Total cost: $52,700

Average need-based aid: $38,914

Average net cost: $13,786

Kiplinger\'s rank: #1 among private universities

Yale\'s lavish endowment -- $19.4 billion, as of June 30, 2011 -- means it has plenty of money to offer in financial aid, and it spreads the wealth. Yale meets 100% of financial need and provides it in no-loan packages, at an average of almost $40,000; students who borrow here graduate with less than $10,000 in average debt, among the lowest on our lists of private universities and liberal arts colleges. Although Yale does not award non-need-based aid, its definition of need is expansive, extending to families earning up to $200,000 a year.

5. Harvard University

Location: Cambridge, Mass.

Undergraduate enrollment: 6,676

Total cost: $55,496

Average need-based aid: $42,229

Average net cost: $13,267

Kiplinger\'s rank: #6 among private universities

The most competitive of the Ivy League schools (only 6% of applicants are admitted), Harvard is also one of the most generous: More than 60% of undergraduates receive aid, and students whose families earn less than $65,000 pay nothing for this coveted education. Harvard has increased its financial aid by more than 70% in the past five years; this year, it dispensed a total of $172 million. Like many elite schools, Harvard restricts its awards to students who qualify for need-based aid.

4. Amherst College

Location: Amherst, Mass.

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,791

Total cost: $55,098

Average need-based aid: $41,991

Average net cost: $13,107

Kiplinger\'s rank: #4 among liberal-arts colleges

Founded in 1821 for \"indigent young men of piety,\" Amherst eventually expanded its enrollment to include both men and women, of diverse backgrounds. But it continues to fulfill its mission by awarding generous financial aid to students with need. Amherst accepts students regardless of their ability to pay and meets 100% of need for students who qualify. Its no-loan financial aid policy allows those who borrow to graduate with less than $13,000 in average debt, less than half the national average.

3. Principia College

Location: Elsah, Ill.

Undergraduate enrollment: 542

Total cost: $36,060

Average need-based aid: $23,055

Average net cost: $13,005

Kiplinger\'s rank: #55 among liberal-arts colleges

Part of a campus that also includes pre-kindergarten, elementary school and high school, Principia College bases its philosophy on Christian Science tenets but is not affiliated with the Christian Science Church. It awards need-based aid to about half of its students and merit aid -- an average of $14,885 -- to 26% of students who do not qualify for need-based aid. Principia\'s 2,600-acre campus overlooks the Mississippi River; many of its buildings were designed by Bernard Maybeck, a renowned architect of the Arts and Crafts movement.

2. Brigham Young University

Location: Provo, Utah

Undergraduate enrollment: 30,684

Total cost: $17,552 (non-Mormon); $12,842 (Mormon)

Avg. need-based aid: $5,333

Avg. net cost: $12,219 (non-Mormon); $7,509 (Mormon)

Kiplinger\'s rank: #34 among private universities

Sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Brigham Young gives a price break to Mormons but makes no distinction between Mormons and non-Mormons when it comes to its financial aid awards. And its sticker price -- the second-lowest, after Berea College, on both our private university and liberal arts college lists -- is a bargain no matter what the student\'s religion. Over 98% of those attending BYU are members of the LDS church; the remainder represent 25 faiths.

1. Berea College

Location: Berea, Ky.

Undergraduate enrollment: 1,661

Total cost: $7,646 (for room and board, fees and textbooks)

Average need-based aid: free tuition plus $5,005

Average net cost: $2,641

Kiplinger\'s rank: #98 among liberal-arts colleges

This school stands out not only for the generosity of its financial-aid program but also for its commitment to providing a college education to students with need. Berea admits only students who qualify for need-based aid; every student receives a full tuition scholarship worth almost $100,000 over four years. Students are also eligible for other grants or scholarships, bringing the total annual net price of this four-year residential college below the average annual cost of a two-year public college.

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