Best Value Colleges & Universities in America by Academic Quality per Dollar

Best Value Colleges in America by Academic Quality per Dollar

These colleges are CollegeCalc's 2022 ranking of the best value colleges in America based on academic value per tuition dollar. While many of these schools don't have low list prices, attractive net prices through generous financial aid combined with academic excellence offer students great returns on investment. In order to be considered, schools must possess high academic standing coupled with costs commensurate to the education provided. Princeton University leads the list with a 99/100 academic rating and a $18,685 average net price.

Academic Rating is a CollegeCalc rating of a college's overall academics and effectiveness. The score ranges from zero to one hundred, with fifty being the median for all eligible colleges. Dollar value is a measure of a school's academic rating compared with the average price paid by students. Colleges which are ranked "n/a" didn't report sufficient data to formulate a score. Learn more about our rating methodology.

All price data are reprinted from the U.S. Department of Education's 2020/2021 IPEDS Survey and reflect reported costs for the 2020/2021 academic year.

America's Best Value Colleges by Academic Quality per Dollar
College	Net Price	Rating	Value
#1 Princeton University New Jersey, Private	$18,685	99	100
#2 Yale University Connecticut, Private	$17,511	99	99
#3 Harvard University Massachusetts, Private	$18,037	99	99
#4 Amherst College Massachusetts, Private	$18,832	97	99
#5 Massachusetts Institute of Technology Massachusetts, Private	$19,998	98	99
#6 Stanford University California, Private	$20,023	99	99
#7 Columbia University in the City of New York New York, Private	$22,126	95	99
#8 Rice University Texas, Private	$19,215	98	99
#9 Johns Hopkins University Maryland, Private	$25,241	97	99
#10 University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill North Carolina, Public	$10,038	88	99
#11 Claremont McKenna College California, Private	$22,004	95	98
#12 Colby College Maine, Private	$18,552	91	98
#13 Wellesley College Massachusetts, Private	$21,614	95	98
#14 University of Michigan Michigan, Public	$17,832	90	98
#15 Dartmouth College New Hampshire, Private	$24,525	97	98
#16 Duke University North Carolina, Private	$26,932	98	98
#17 University of Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, Private	$24,167	96	98
#18 Swarthmore College Pennsylvania, Private	$20,360	92	98
#19 California Institute of Technology California, Private	$26,591	98	98
#20 Emory University Georgia, Private	$25,672	94	97

U.S. Academic Quality per Dollar Ranking

Best Value Colleges in America by Academic Quality per Dollar