Best ROI: Private Universities

The private colleges where the higher price tag actually earns its keep - graduate outcomes strong enough to justify what you pay.

50 schools ranked

Data: 2024-25 College Scorecard release

#	School	ROI	Net Price	10yr Earnings	Median Debt	Completion	Tier
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	99	$20,111	$143,372	$14,768	96.4%	Exceptional
2	Stanford University Stanford, CA	99	$13,807	$124,080	$12,000	91.9%	Exceptional
3	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	98	$14,860	$91,885	$15,000	95.9%	Exceptional
4	Rice University Houston, TX	98	$13,370	$89,718	$11,000	94.6%	Exceptional
5	Yale University New Haven, CT	97	$23,777	$100,533	$12,975	95.7%	Exceptional
6	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	97	$26,780	$99,980	$19,000	95.2%	Exceptional
7	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	97	$31,944	$114,862	$21,750	94.1%	Exceptional
8	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	97	$28,699	$111,371	$15,715	96.5%	Exceptional
9	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	97	$15,846	$91,565	$14,000	93.5%	Exceptional
10	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	96	$18,809	$87,555	$10,250	93.8%	Exceptional
11	Babson College Wellesley, MA	96	$40,514	$123,938	$20,000	93.1%	Exceptional
12	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	96	$19,066	$101,817	$14,000	97.6%	Exceptional
13	Williams College Williamstown, MA	96	$17,716	$88,665	$12,761	93.6%	Exceptional
14	Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO	96	$21,786	$86,182	$17,500	94.3%	Exceptional
15	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	96	$21,590	$102,491	$21,500	96.1%	Exceptional
16	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	96	$28,690	$104,043	$14,000	95.4%	Exceptional
17	Duke University Durham, NC	96	$29,612	$97,800	$13,000	96.8%	Exceptional
18	Brown University Providence, RI	96	$25,184	$93,487	$11,428	95.7%	Exceptional
19	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	95	$29,519	$97,434	$17,500	95.5%	Exceptional
20	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	94	$16,075	$128,566	N/A	94.4%	Exceptional
21	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	94	$29,167	$89,363	$15,000	95.1%	Exceptional
22	Colby College Waterville, ME	94	$17,180	$80,490	$19,157	88.8%	Exceptional
23	Bentley University Waltham, MA	94	$37,930	$120,959	$25,023	86.8%	Exceptional
24	Wellesley College Wellesley, MA	94	$25,496	$84,803	$10,000	91.5%	Exceptional
25	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	94	$6,128	$110,066	$10,320	97.6%	Exceptional
26	Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Albany, NY	94	$29,882	$131,426	$25,500	67.5%	Exceptional
27	The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art New York, NY	94	$13,269	$83,847	$15,000	81.1%	Exceptional
28	Brigham Young University Provo, UT	94	$15,564	$75,790	$11,069	81.0%	Exceptional
29	Georgetown University Washington, DC	93	$40,815	$103,494	$15,500	94.8%	Exceptional
30	Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Troy, NY	93	$36,228	$102,051	$23,750	83.6%	Exceptional
31	Lehigh University Bethlehem, PA	93	$36,931	$105,584	$21,960	87.9%	Exceptional
32	Claremont McKenna College Claremont, CA	92	$28,849	$104,736	$13,500	91.4%	Exceptional
33	Harvey Mudd College Claremont, CA	92	$35,924	$138,687	$25,000	91.9%	Exceptional
34	Emory University Atlanta, GA	92	$22,585	$80,137	$18,250	91.1%	Exceptional
35	Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago, IL	92	$18,425	$82,592	$25,000	75.2%	Exceptional
36	Bowdoin College Brunswick, ME	92	$14,398	$82,735	$18,500	95.3%	Exceptional
37	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	92	$41,704	$103,937	$19,000	90.8%	Exceptional
38	Stevens Institute of Technology Hoboken, NJ	92	$41,346	$108,772	$27,000	86.9%	Exceptional
39	Colgate University Hamilton, NY	92	$28,786	$85,139	$15,000	91.2%	Exceptional
40	Lafayette College Easton, PA	92	$34,433	$91,410	$16,000	87.6%	Exceptional
41	Swarthmore College Swarthmore, PA	92	$23,149	$80,257	$17,500	92.3%	Exceptional
42	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	91	$32,740	$92,498	$18,000	91.8%	Exceptional
43	Northeastern University Boston, MA	91	$30,915	$92,538	$24,250	90.5%	Exceptional
44	Washington and Lee University Lexington, VA	91	$23,781	$94,810	$19,500	93.9%	Exceptional
45	Pomona College Claremont, CA	90	$19,285	$77,779	$11,782	93.2%	Exceptional
46	Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA	90	$50,062	$109,183	$19,162	87.9%	Exceptional
47	Amherst College Amherst, MA	90	$23,367	$77,644	$13,740	93.9%	Exceptional
48	Boston University Boston, MA	90	$24,402	$83,238	$23,250	88.7%	Exceptional
49	MCPHS University Boston, MA	90	$39,545	$125,557	$25,000	62.0%	Exceptional
50	Worcester Polytechnic Institute Worcester, MA	90	$43,071	$103,470	$27,000	89.7%	Exceptional

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Other Rankings

Best ROI Overall Best Public Schools Most Underrated Best Large Schools Fastest Payback Lowest Debt Worst ROI

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 →

Common Questions

What is the best private college for ROI?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology tops this list at 99/100 on our ROI scale, the highest among the 50 schools ranked here. Rankings weigh net price against median graduate earnings from U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data - no prestige guesswork.

Which school on this list has the highest graduate earnings?

Massachusetts Institute of Technology reports the highest median earnings here, about $143,372 ten years after enrollment. In our view higher earnings alone don't make the best value, since what you pay matters just as much - which is why the ranking weighs cost too.

What is the most affordable school on this list?

Princeton University carries the lowest net price among the ranked schools, about $6,128 a year after grants and scholarships. Net price is what students actually pay, not the published sticker price.

How are these schools ranked?

We score every school 0 to 100 on five quantifiable factors: earnings premium (30%), payback period (25%), debt-to-earnings (20%), completion rate (15%), and loan repayment (10%). All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard, with no subjective reputation scoring. Of the 50 schools here, 50 earn an ROI score of 60 or higher.