Best value colleges in US is an intriguing and thought-worthy issue attracts students at home and abroad. Since the cost of higher education is rising, it might be even more important to you to know that you’re getting value for your money. uhomes.com has updated methodology and released a new ranking of the “best value” colleges in the United States. It considers academic quality and net cost of attendance for an out-of-state student who received the average level of need-based financial aid. Higher program quality and lower cost make a college better. Examples of new metrics it uses to assess whether a college is considered a good value include earnings one year after graduation, the percentage of graduates employed two years after graduation, and the rate of alumni earnings growing.
This blog will provide you with top colleges in the US with best value 2024, helping you make the best choice of educational destination and pursue your academic dream in the United States.
10 Top Colleges in the US with Best Value
Top 1. Harvard University
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tuition & Fees: $59,076
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $70,387
Students: 21,613
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 7:1
Acceptance Rate: 3%
Graduation Rate: 87%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 96.3%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $86,549
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts and is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Its influence, wealth, and rankings have made it one of the most prestigious universities in the world. Harvard University is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. Over more than three and a half centuries, Harvard alumni have contributed creatively and significantly to society, the arts and sciences, business, and national and international affairs.
Harvard University is globally regarded as one of biggest universities in the US with top value and one of popular colleges. It is also one of most affordable colleges in USA with best value.
Top 2. Princeton University
Location: Princeton, New Jersey
Tuition & Fees: $59,710
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $62,844
Students: 8,478
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 5:1
Acceptance Rate: 6%
Graduation Rate: 88%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 90.8%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $64,287
Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Students who graduate from Princeton University are leaders in all walks of life and play a vital role in the development of the United States.
Princeton University is regarded as one of best value universities and one of costliest universities in USA. It is also one of affordable colleges in the United States.
Top 3. Yale University
Location: New Haven, Connecticut
Tuition & Fees: $64,700
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $70,295
Students: 12,093
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 6:1
Acceptance Rate: 5%
Graduation Rate: 88%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 94%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $60,511
Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Yale has produced many distinguished alumni in various fields, from the public to private sector, including U.S. presidents, Founding Fathers, living billionaires, college founders and many heads of state.
Yale University is thought as one of top colleges in USA with best value and one of costliest universities in USA at home and abroad. It is also one of affordable colleges in America.
Top 4. Stanford University
Location: Stanford, California
Tuition & Fees: $62,484
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $72,000
Students: 17,529
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 6:1
Acceptance Rate: 4%
Graduation Rate: 73%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 89%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $77,677
Stanford University is a private research university in Stanford, California. Stanford is one of the most successful universities worldwide in attracting funding for start-up companies and in also licensing its inventions to existing businesses. Alumni have founded numerous corporations, which when combined equal the tenth-largest economy in the world. Stanford is widely considered one of the most prestigious universities in the world by leading sources including QS World University Rankings.
Stanford University is regarded as one of best value schools in USA and one of best affordable colleges in USA widely. It is also one of popular colleges in America.
Top 5. Rice University
Location: Houston, Texas
Tuition & Fees: $58,128
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $59,724
Students: 8,672
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 6:1
Acceptance Rate: 9%
Graduation Rate: 88%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 94%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $69,373
Rice University is a private research university in Houston, Texas, United States. Rice has been a member of the Association of American Universities since 1985 and is classified among “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity”. Rice competes in 14 NCAA Division I varsity sports and is a part of the American Athletic Conference. Its teams are the Rice Owls. Rice’s distinguished faculty and alumni consists of Nobel laureates, Turing Award winner, Pulitzer Prize award winners and Fulbright Scholars.
Rice University is regarded as one of America’s best value colleges and one of most economical colleges in USA by students at home and abroad. It is also one of popular colleges in America.
Top 6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tuition & Fees: $60,156
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $60,077
Students: 11,920
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 3:1
Acceptance Rate: 4%
Graduation Rate: 89%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 90.2%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $102,988
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, which has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and science. Founded in response to the increasing industrialization of the United States, MIT adopted a European polytechnic university model and stressed laboratory instruction in applied science and engineering. The faculty and student body place a high value on meritocracy and on technical proficiency. Many of MIT’s over 120,000 alumni have achieved considerable success in scientific research, public service, education, and business.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology is considered as one of top colleges in USA with top value. It is also one of costliest universities in USA.
Top 7. Vanderbilt University
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
Tuition & Fees: $63,946
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $69,254
Students: 13,710
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 7:1
Acceptance Rate: 7%
Graduation Rate: 89%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 94%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $59,743
Vanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. Vanderbilt is a founding member of the Southeastern Conference and has been the conference’s only private school. Vanderbilt is classified among “R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity”. Several research centers and institutes are affiliated with the university, including the Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities. Vanderbilt alumni, faculty, and staff have included current and former members of the United States Congress, U.S. Ambassadors, governors and Nobel Prize laureates.
Vanderbilt University is globally considered as one of best value colleges in USA. It is also one of popular colleges in USA.
Top 8. Dartmouth College
Location: Hanover, New Hampshire
Tuition & Fees: $65,511
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $68,902
Students: 6,746
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 7:1
Acceptance Rate: 6%
Graduation Rate: 84%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 94%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $60,840
Dartmouth College is a private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Emerging into national prominence at the turn of the 20th century, Dartmouth has since been considered among the most prestigious undergraduate colleges in the United States. Dartmouth functions on a quarter system, operating year-round on four ten-week academic terms. Dartmouth’s alumni are known for frequently donating to their alma mater. Most start by giving to the Senior Class Gift.
Dartmouth College is regarded as one of biggest universities in the US with best value. It is also one of affordable colleges in America.
Top 9. Johns Hopkins University
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Tuition & Fees: $63,340
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $62,498
Students: 30,549
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 6:1
Acceptance Rate: 7%
Graduation Rate: 89%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 91%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $78,932
Johns Hopkins University is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Johns Hopkins is the first American university based on the European research institution model and also has graduate campuses in Italy, China, and Washington, D.C. The Johns Hopkins University also offers the Center for Talented Youth program, a nonprofit organization dedicated to identifying and developing the talents of the most promising K-12 grade students worldwide. The opportunity to participate in important research is one of the distinguishing characteristics of Hopkins’s undergraduate education.
Johns Hopkins University is acknowledged by students and parents at home and abroad as one of best value colleges. It is also one of biggest universities in the US.
Top 10. California Institute of Technology
Location: Pasadena, California
Tuition & Fees: $63,255
Average Need-Based Aid Package: $64,303
Students: 2,397
High School GPA: 3.9
Student/Faculty Ratio: 3:1
Acceptance Rate: 3%
Graduation Rate: 81%
Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years: 89%
Median Starting Salary of Alumni: $86,037
California Institute of Technology is a private research university in Pasadena, California. The university is responsible for many modern scientific advances and is among a small group of institutes of technology in the United States that are devoted to the instruction of pure and applied sciences. Scientists and engineers at or from the university have played an essential role in many modern scientific breakthroughs and innovations. 30 alumni and 16 non-alumni faculty have won the Nobel Prize.
California Institute of Technology is acknowledged by students and parents at home and abroad as one of best value colleges. It is also one of biggest universities in the US and one of popular colleges with top value.
American College Rankings - Best Value
- Top 1. Harvard University
- Top 2. Princeton University
- Top 3. Yale University
- Top 4. Stanford University
- Top 5. Rice University
- Top 6. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Top 7. Vanderbilt University
- Top 8. Dartmouth College
- Top 9. Johns Hopkins University
- Top 10. California Institute of Technology
How to Apply to Best Value Colleges
- Step 1: Think about Your Dream School
Find a best value college that will suit your unique goals and aligns with the location and type of education you’d like.
- Step 2: Find a Mentor
Once you’ve narrowed down the best value college you’d like to attend, find someone who has some experience with the US college application process.
- Step 3: Work on Your Extracurricular Activities
While studying and making good grades is crucial, a key part of the American best value college experience are the things you do outside of class. Best value colleges are looking for students who are passionate, curious, forward-thinking and even a bit altruistic.
- Step 4: Gather Your Paperwork
In addition to any entrance exams, the admissions office of your chosen top colleges in the US with best value will require some key documents. They’ll want to review all of your grades during secondary school. You’ll have to have your high school mail your transcripts to the best value college you’re applying to.
- Step 5: Send in Your Applications
Once you’re up to speed on all the requirements, you’ve taken your exams, and you’ve requested an application form, it’s time to fill it out and send it in.
Methodology of Best Value Colleges
For a college to be considered the “best value” means that it offers the best compromise between cost and the quality of education you receive. It doesn’t mean the least expensive college, because if a college is significantly less expensive, this probably leads to a commensurate decrease in the quality of education. The reduction in tuition and fees would normally need to be achieved by reducing the number of professors, relying more on contract instructors, and cutting expenditures on equipment and infrastructure. The concept of “quality of education” is complex and cannot be entirely analyzed using quantifiable factors, such as student-professor ratio or the dollar value per capita of scholarships.
uhome.com first analyses “Tuition & Fees” and “Average Need-Based Aid Package” of top universities in the US which helps you get a grasp on which school is the least expensive. Scholarships and financial aid usually are granted based on personal need, academic ability or skills and and don’t need to be paid back. “Student/Faculty Ratio” is greatly reveals the quality of academic teaching and research atmosphere. “Acceptance Rate” and “Graduation Rate” are two factors influence whether it is greatly difficult to apply to and graduate from. “Graduate Employment Rate After Two Years” and “Median Starting Salary of Alumni” are considered as two most important factors influence whether top colleges in USA will be regarded to have America’s best value which mean social recognition of the college and whether the money and time spent in the college is worthwhile and reciprocated. They are also hints at how well the college prepares students for careers and how successful the alumni network is.
Conclusion
Students who attend these schools don’t have to mortgage their futures to pay for their degrees—and we believe they will graduate with great career prospects. uhomes. Com chooses Best Value Colleges for 2024 based on precise and updated data. We strongly recommend and salute the colleges we present here for all that they do to help their students with need afford to attend them while delivering an amazing college experience that’s worth every penny.
After you have been admitted into best value colleges in USA, renting an apartment is the first and foremost thing. uhomes.com will provide you with affordable, reliable and comfortable student housing in the United States.
FAQ
The 209 schools that made our 2024 rankings for The Best Value Colleges all share three exceptional features: stellar academics. affordable cost—either via a comparatively low sticker price or generous financial aid (or both) strong career prospects for graduates.
Harvard University. The private institution stresses a multidisciplinary combination of teaching, learning, and research, and students have many opportunities to get involved in research projects. The sunny campus of Harvard University is located in Harvard Yard in Cambridge, about 3 miles west-northwest of downtown Boston, and extends into the surrounding Harvard Square neighborhood.
A recent study published in the American Educational Research Journal found that engineering and computer science majors provide the highest returns in lifetime earnings, followed by business, health, and math and science majors.
- Yale University.
- Dartmouth College.
- Harvard University.
- Northwestern University.
- Colby College.
- Wellesley College.
- Columbia University.
- Stanford University.
In short, Ivy League and other top schools typically admit legacies at two to five times their overall admission rates. Among top universities, the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University are known to weigh legacy status heavily in their application processes.
The most common areas of study for such programs are education, healthcare, and STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math). Students pursuing degrees in these areas may find substantial financial aid opportunities to offset the costs of their education.
2.0 GPA. To be eligible for federal student aid and college financial aid, a student must be making Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP). This generally consists of maintaining at least a 2.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale (i.e., at least a C average) and passing enough classes with progress toward a degree.
