Best ROI Colleges in Pennsylvania
Looking for value in Pennsylvania? Start here. We ranked these colleges by ROI - earnings premium (30%), payback period (25%), debt-to-earnings (20%), completion rate (15%), and loan repayment (10%) - all from U.S. Department of Education data, with no prestige guesswork in the mix.
10 schools ranked
Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release
| # | School | ROI |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA | 97 |
| 2 | University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA | 97 |
| 3 | Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA | 93 |
| 4 | Lafayette College Easton, PA | 92 |
| 5 | Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA | 92 |
| 6 | Villanova University Villanova, PA | 89 |
| 7 | Bucknell University Lewisburg, PA | 87 |
| 8 | Haverford College Haverford, PA | 87 |
| 9 | Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA | 86 |
| 10 | Thomas Jefferson University Philadelphia, PA | 86 |
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How We Rank
Rankings are based on our ROI score (0-100), which weights five quantifiable factors: Earnings Premium (30%), Payback Period (25%), Debt-to-Earnings (20%), Completion Rate (15%), and Loan Repayment (10%). All data comes from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. No subjective criteria are used.
Full methodology →