Let’s face it. College is expensive and parents are taking a detailed approach in terms of cost/benefit. Money Magazine has done a very interesting analysis done where they have drawn on the research and advice of dozens of the nation’s top experts on education quality, financing, and value to develop a new, uniquely practical analysis of more than 700 of the nation’s best-performing colleges. Some of the names will surprise you – here are the Top 50:
|
College Name
|
Median SAT/ACT score
|
Est. price 2017-18 without aid
|
Est. price 2017-18 with avg. grant
|
% who get need-based grants
|
% who get merit grants
|
Early career earnings
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
Princeton, NJ
|
1500/33 | $65, 300 | $19, 300 | 59% | N/A | $67, 600 |
|
2
New York, NY
|
1240/NA | $31, 400 | $9, 800 | 51% | 8% | $51, 600 |
|
3
Ann Arbor, MI
|
1380/31 | $29, 500 | $17, 000 | 32% | 24% | $61, 200 |
|
4
Berkeley, CA
|
1370/32 | $37, 200 | $17, 900 | 48% | 1% | $62, 100 |
|
5
Los Angeles, CA
|
1330/30 | $35, 300 | $14, 900 | 52% | 1% | $53, 300 |
|
5
Stanford, CA
|
1480/33 | $68, 100 | $20, 800 | 49% | 1% | $70, 300 |
|
7
Irvine, CA
|
1160/26 | $33, 900 | $15, 800 | 62% | N/A | $52, 000 |
|
8
Cambridge, MA
|
1500/34 | $67, 800 | $23, 400 | 55% | 1% | $77, 000 |
|
9
Davis, CA
|
1210/28 | $36, 300 | $18, 200 | 60% | 1% | $53, 000 |
|
10
Cambridge, MA
|
1510/34 | $68, 600 | $17, 000 | 56% | N/A | $65, 000 |
|
11
Charlottesville, VA
|
1360/31 | $31, 200 | $15, 700 | 27% | 2% | $58, 000 |
|
12
Houston, TX
|
1470/33 | $62, 700 | $24, 300 | 37% | 1% | $63, 100 |
|
13
Seattle, WA
|
1230/28 | $28, 500 | $10, 500 | 35% | 2% | $55, 200 |
|
14
New Haven, CT
|
1510/33 | $70, 100 | $19, 600 | 49% | N/A | $62, 600 |
|
15
Nashville, TN
|
1510/33 | $67, 100 | $24, 800 | 45% | 20% | $57, 900 |
|
16
Atlanta, GA
|
1400/32 | $30, 700 | $13, 800 | 38% | 25% | $65, 600 |
|
16
Lexington, VA
|
1390/32 | $65, 700 | $23, 100 | 41% | 10% | $53, 200 |
|
18
Gainesville, FL
|
1270/29 | $21, 800 | $15, 800 | 33% | 39% | $49, 800 |
|
19
Pasadena, CA
|
1550/35 | $67, 000 | $25, 100 | 52% | 1% | $79, 800 |
|
20
College Park, MD
|
1320/NA | $26, 500 | $15, 900 | 34% | 3% | $55, 700 |
|
21
New York, NY
|
1480/33 | $73, 400 | $19, 100 | 48% | 1% | $62, 500 |
|
22
Champaign, IL
|
1390/29 | $31, 400 | $18, 200 | 38% | 5% | $57, 700 |
|
23
Blacksburg, VA
|
1220/NA | $26, 200 | $19, 900 | 31% | 15% | $57, 400 |
|
24
Ewing, NJ
|
1220/27 | $34, 600 | $21, 800 | 20% | 13% | $52, 100 |
|
25
Williamstown, MA
|
1460/33 | $70, 700 | $23, 300 | 48% | N/A | $54, 000 |
|
26
Buzzards Bay, MA
|
1110/23 | $24, 800 | $14, 800 | 31% | 1% | $59, 300 |
|
27
Philadelphia, PA
|
1460/33 | $71, 100 | $25, 800 | 47% | N/A | $61, 900 |
|
28
Amherst, MA
|
1450/32 | $71, 400 | $18, 200 | 57% | N/A | $49, 000 |
|
29
Riverside, CA
|
1130/25 | $35, 400 | $14, 400 | 76% | 1% | $47, 000 |
|
30
East Lansing, MI
|
1120/26 | $27, 500 | $15, 800 | 35% | 13% | $50, 400 |
|
31
Austin, TX
|
1290/29 | $27, 800 | $18, 800 | 33% | 12% | $53, 900 |
|
32
Hanover, NH
|
1460/32 | $71, 400 | $23, 100 | 49% | N/A | $62, 000 |
|
33
Vestal, NY
|
1290/29 | $27, 000 | $17, 400 | 40% | 3% | $51, 700 |
|
34
Providence, RI
|
1440/32 | $69, 800 | $24, 800 | 44% | N/A | $60, 600 |
|
34
College Station, TX
|
1200/27 | $26, 200 | $14, 800 | 39% | 3% | $55, 000 |
|
36
Santa Barbara, CA
|
1240/29 | $37, 200 | $17, 500 | 57% | 1% | $50, 600 |
|
37
Storrs, CT
|
1240/28 | $30, 900 | $20, 400 | 41% | 20% | $55, 200 |
|
37
West Lafayette, IN
|
1210/27 | $24, 300 | $12, 600 | 28% | 16% | $57, 800 |
|
37
Swarthmore, PA
|
1450/32 | $68, 700 | $23, 300 | 52% | N/A | $56, 700 |
|
40
Notre Dame, IN
|
1430/33 | $69, 200 | $28, 800 | 42% | 24% | $60, 800 |
|
41
Lexington, VA
|
1160/26 | $30, 700 | $16, 400 | 44% | 24% | $55, 600 |
|
42
Long Beach, CA
|
1060/23 | $24, 200 | $10, 400 | 61% | 20% | $45, 500 |
|
43
Brooklyn, NY
|
1090/NA | $29, 300 | $9, 800 | 75% | 22% | $43, 800 |
|
44
Clinton, NY
|
1390/32 | $69, 400 | $23, 700 | 48% | N/A | $54, 100 |
|
45
Madison, WI
|
1290/29 | $26, 000 | $17, 300 | 36% | 3% | $51, 200 |
|
46
Schenectady, NY
|
NA/NA | $69, 600 | $40, 300 | 49% | 5% | $54, 300 |
|
46
Harrisonburg, VA
|
1140/26 | $26, 000 | $18, 000 | 21% | 4% | $49, 900 |
|
48
New Ulm, MN
|
NA/25 | $25, 400 | $19, 100 | 73% | 3% | $36, 000 |
|
49
New Brunswick, NJ
|
1220/NA | $32, 100 | $17, 100 | 39% | 9% | $52, 200 |
|
50
Raleigh, NC
|
1250/28 | $23, 600 | $14, 700 | 44% | 6% | $52, 500 |