HighSchoolOS Best Private Colleges
Private nonprofit colleges often post the highest graduation rates and the most generous aid, which can make the real net price lower than a public school for many families. Here are the strongest.
Explore this ranking interactively| # | School | Location | Acceptance | SAT avg | Net price | Grad rate | Undergrads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Princeton University | Princeton, NJ | 4.6% | 1,553 | $6,128 | 98% | 5,709 |
| 2 | Yale University | New Haven, CT | 3.9% | 1,534 | $23,777 | 96% | 6,758 |
| 3 | Stanford University | Stanford, CA | 3.6% | 1,553 | $13,807 | 92% | 7,554 |
| 4 | Harvard University | Cambridge, MA | 3.6% | 1,553 | $19,066 | 98% | 7,601 |
| 5 | Duke University | Durham, NC | 5.7% | 1,548 | $29,612 | 97% | 6,442 |
| 6 | University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia, PA | 5.4% | 1,553 | $28,699 | 97% | 10,650 |
| 7 | Dartmouth College | Hanover, NH | 5.4% | 1,534 | $29,519 | 96% | 4,541 |
| 8 | Brown University | Providence, RI | 5.4% | 1,546 | $25,184 | 96% | 7,226 |
| 9 | Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore, MD | 6.4% | 1,553 | $18,809 | 94% | 5,693 |
| 10 | Columbia University in the City of New York | New York, NY | 4.0% | 1,553 | $21,590 | 96% | 8,973 |
| 11 | Cornell University | Ithaca, NY | 8.8% | 1,535 | $28,690 | 95% | 15,995 |
| 12 | Northwestern University | Evanston, IL | 7.7% | 1,533 | $29,167 | 95% | 9,201 |
| 13 | University of Chicago | Chicago, IL | 4.5% | 1,554 | $14,860 | 96% | 7,569 |
| 14 | Bowdoin College | Brunswick, ME | 7.1% | 1,520 | $14,398 | 95% | 1,873 |
| 15 | Amherst College | Amherst, MA | 9.0% | 1,533 | $23,367 | 94% | 1,911 |
| 16 | Hamilton College | Clinton, NY | 13.6% | 1,506 | $28,985 | 91% | 2,030 |
| 17 | Williams College | Williamstown, MA | 8.3% | 1,533 | $17,716 | 94% | 2,076 |
| 18 | Rice University | Houston, TX | 8.0% | 1,553 | $13,370 | 95% | 4,776 |
| 19 | Vanderbilt University | Nashville, TN | 5.9% | 1,549 | $15,846 | 94% | 7,208 |
| 20 | University of Notre Dame | Notre Dame, IN | 11.3% | 1,520 | $26,780 | 95% | 8,818 |
| 21 | Washington University in St Louis | St. Louis, MO | 12.1% | 1,530 | $21,786 | 94% | 7,857 |
| 22 | Emory University | Atlanta, GA | 10.7% | 1,520 | $22,585 | 91% | 7,298 |
| 23 | Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh, PA | 11.7% | 1,546 | $31,944 | 94% | 7,304 |
| 24 | Swarthmore College | Swarthmore, PA | 7.5% | 1,534 | $23,149 | 92% | 1,613 |
| 25 | New York University | New York, NY | 9.2% | 1,520 | $37,050 | 88% | 28,663 |
| 26 | University of Southern California | Los Angeles, CA | 9.8% | 1,495 | $32,740 | 92% | 20,443 |
| 27 | Tufts University | Medford, MA | 11.5% | 1,513 | $39,998 | 94% | 7,061 |
| 28 | Boston College | Chestnut Hill, MA | 16.4% | 1,507 | $41,704 | 91% | 10,085 |
| 29 | Boston University | Boston, MA | 11.1% | 1,480 | $24,402 | 89% | 18,248 |
| 30 | Northeastern University | Boston, MA | 5.2% | 1,497 | $30,915 | 91% | 17,326 |
| 31 | Babson College | Wellesley, MA | 17.1% | 1,457 | $40,514 | 93% | 2,728 |
| 32 | Lehigh University | Bethlehem, PA | 26% | 1,440 | $36,931 | 88% | 5,898 |
| 33 | Tulane University of Louisiana | New Orleans, LA | 14.0% | 1,448 | $39,949 | 86% | 7,767 |
| 34 | Southern Methodist University | Dallas, TX | 63% | 1,428 | $40,892 | 84% | 7,277 |
| 35 | Franklin W Olin College of Engineering | Needham, MA | 25% | 1,520 | $25,171 | 96% | 377 |
| 36 | California Institute of Technology | Pasadena, CA | 2.6% | n/a | $16,075 | 94% | 987 |
| 37 | Washington and Lee University | Lexington, VA | 14.0% | 1,498 | $23,781 | 94% | 1,881 |
| 38 | Pomona College | Claremont, CA | 7.1% | 1,534 | $19,285 | 93% | 1,666 |
| 39 | Barnard College | New York, NY | 8.8% | 1,520 | $28,800 | 93% | 3,264 |
| 40 | Wesleyan University | Middletown, CT | 16.5% | 1,501 | $30,177 | 93% | 3,067 |
| 41 | Harvey Mudd College | Claremont, CA | 12.7% | 1,545 | $35,924 | 92% | 921 |
| 42 | Villanova University | Villanova, PA | 27% | 1,460 | $43,756 | 92% | 6,938 |
| 43 | Soka University of America | Aliso Viejo, CA | 43% | 1,440 | $18,260 | 92% | 484 |
| 44 | Wellesley College | Wellesley, MA | 14.1% | 1,520 | $25,496 | 92% | 2,300 |
| 45 | Middlebury College | Middlebury, VT | 10.8% | 1,508 | $31,483 | 91% | 2,738 |
| 46 | Claremont McKenna College | Claremont, CA | 9.6% | 1,527 | $28,849 | 91% | 1,388 |
| 47 | Colgate University | Hamilton, NY | 13.9% | 1,508 | $28,786 | 91% | 3,180 |
| 48 | Davidson College | Davidson, NC | 13.4% | 1,469 | $17,379 | 91% | 1,867 |
| 49 | Vassar College | Poughkeepsie, NY | 18.6% | 1,494 | $39,343 | 91% | 2,444 |
| 50 | Jewish Theological Seminary of America | New York, NY | 49% | 1,500 | $43,195 | 90% | 172 |
Acceptance rate, net price (average cost after aid), and graduation rate are from the most recent federal data; test ranges and deadlines are verified against each school for the 2025-2026 cycle. Click any school for its full profile, deadlines, and supplemental essay prompts.