Best Value Schools National Universities
Best Value Schools Methodology
Which colleges and universities offer students the best value? The calculation used here takes into account a school's academic quality, as indicated by its 2013 U.S. News Best Colleges ranking, and the 2011-2012 net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid. The higher the quality of the program and the lower the cost, the better the deal. Only schools ranked in or near the top half of their categories are included, because U.S. News considers the most significant values to be among colleges that are above average academically.
| Save | Rank | School | Percent receiving need-based grants: | Average cost after receiving grants based on need: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 |
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA |
60.0% | $14,495 | |
| #2 |
Yale University
New Haven, CT |
56.0% | $15,676 | |
| #3 |
Princeton University
Princeton, NJ |
59.4% | $17,015 | |
| #4 |
Stanford University
Stanford, CA |
50.5% | $17,125 | |
| #5 |
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Cambridge, MA |
64.8% | $20,397 | |
| #6 |
Columbia University
New York, NY |
50.4% | $20,095 | |
| #7 |
Dartmouth College
Hanover, NH |
50.0% | $21,064 | |
| #8 |
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA |
53.8% | $21,732 | |
| #9 |
Duke University
Durham, NC |
43.3% | $20,971 | |
| #10 |
Rice University
Houston, TX |
42.9% | $19,169 | |
| #11 |
University of Chicago
Chicago, IL |
45.9% | $22,355 | |
| #12 |
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY |
48.4% | $20,903 | |
| #13 |
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA |
46.4% | $22,705 | |
| #14 |
Brown University
Providence, RI |
41.9% | $21,179 | |
| #15 |
Brigham Young University–Provo
Provo, UT |
35.2% | $11,515 | |
| #16 |
Vanderbilt University
Nashville, TN |
43.4% | $21,108 | |
| #17 |
University of North Carolina–Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC |
41.2% | $18,225 | |
| #18 |
Emory University
Atlanta, GA |
47.4% | $22,669 | |
| #19 |
Texas A&M University–College Station
College Station, TX |
66.9% | $18,366 | |
| #20 |
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD |
42.1% | $26,733 | |
| #21 |
Pepperdine University
Malibu, CA |
25.9% | $17,137 | |
| #22 |
University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, IN |
47.5% | $26,931 | |
| #23 |
Northwestern University
Evanston, IL |
43.8% | $28,958 | |
| #24 |
University of California–Riverside
Riverside, CA |
35.0% | $16,085 | |
| #25 |
Georgetown University
Washington, DC |
38.3% | $26,505 | |
| #26 |
University of Rochester
Rochester, NY |
55.6% | $27,061 | |
| #27 |
Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA |
43.8% | $23,541 | |
| #28 |
Clark University
Worcester, MA |
58.7% | $21,390 | |
| #29 |
University of Virginia
Charlottesville, VA |
29.3% | $24,281 | |
| #30 |
Washington University in St. Louis
St. Louis, MO |
38.1% | $29,879 | |
| #31 |
Brandeis University
Waltham, MA |
46.1% | $25,943 | |
| #32 |
Tufts University
Medford, MA |
36.5% | $26,089 | |
| #33 |
Wake Forest University
Winston-Salem, NC |
38.6% | $27,723 | |
| #34 |
Clarkson University
Potsdam, NY |
84.9% | $27,899 | |
| #35 |
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL |
61.7% | $22,337 | |
| #36 |
Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland, OH |
60.5% | $30,934 | |
| #37 |
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA |
45.8% | $31,219 | |
| #38 |
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA |
37.8% | $29,499 | |
| #39 |
Boston College
Chestnut Hill, MA |
37.8% | $28,041 | |
| #40 |
North Carolina State University–Raleigh
Raleigh, NC |
48.0% | $19,261 | |
| #41 |
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Troy, NY |
64.5% | $33,457 | |
| #42 |
SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Syracuse, NY |
65.0% | $24,011 | |
| #43 |
Yeshiva University
New York, NY |
49.1% | $28,972 | |
| #44 |
Duquesne University
Pittsburgh, PA |
69.5% | $25,811 | |
| #45 |
University of the Pacific
Stockton, CA |
71.3% | $31,111 | |
| #46 |
Missouri University of Science & Technology
Rolla, MO |
69.0% | $24,343 | |
| #47 |
Syracuse University
Syracuse, NY |
53.1% | $30,209 | |
| #48 |
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA |
67.4% | $34,483 | |
| #49 |
Loyola University Chicago
Chicago, IL |
70.7% | $30,236 | |
| #50 |
Marquette University
Milwaukee, WI |
60.2% | $29,752 |
