Colleges that provide most value for 2025

Parents and students continue to confront the rising cost of college education in America, and getting the most bang for their buck is a key factor in deciding which institution they are best suited for.

Niche, a website for education data and reviews, ranked more than 1,000 four-year colleges and universities for its “2025 Best Value Colleges in America” list, which features schools large and small, public and private, including Ivys.

It determined the order of its 2025 list by looking at a slew of metrics such as average net price, average return on investment by age 30, economic mobility, student surveys on value and median earnings six years after graduation that have each been assigned weights.

The top 10 of Niche’s “2025 Best Value Colleges in America” list was evenly split between the East and West coasts.

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The top 10 of Niche’s “2025 Best Value Colleges in America” list was evenly split between the East and West Coast.

The schools that the website ranked most highly for value included:

1. Harvey Mudd College

Harvey Mudd College describes itself as “one of the premier engineering, science and mathematics colleges” in America. The college, founded in the 1950s, also received the No. 1 ranking in Niche’s “2025 Best Liberal Arts Colleges in America” list and placed second on its ranking of small U.S. colleges.

2. Stanford University

Niche pegged the percentage of Stanford alums with jobs two years after graduating at 94%. The median its graduates earn annually six years out of school is $94,000, according to the website.

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3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

BOSTON, MA - JULY 03: The Great Dome on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) campus in Cambridge is seen during the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular dress rehearsal on July 3, 2024, from the Charles River Esplanade in Boston, MA. (Photo by Erica Denhoff/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology accepts roughly 4% of applicants. Niche also gave MIT the title of the school with the best academics for 2025.

4. California Institute of Technology

PASADENA, CA - FEBRUARY 28, 2013 - Campus scene at California Institute of Technology, Caltech, in Pasadena, California, on February 28, 2013. Caltech is preparing to relocate a campus child care center to make way for a new dormitory on campus. Neighbors in the neighborhood are complaining that the new location, which the prestigious science and math college already owns, is too close to their homes and would create a traffic nightmare. (Photo by Ricardo DeAratanha/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

CalTech reported more than 1,000 enrolled students for the fall semester of the 2023-2024 school year. Its graduation rate is 94%, according to Niche.

5. Yale University

Yale is one of the eight Ivy League universities. Its graduates tend to get paid $56,000 straight out of school, Niche reported.

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6. Harvard University

Tuition at Harvard, another Ivy League university, costs $56,550 for the 2024-2025 academic year, not counting housing, food and other expenses, according to its website.

7. Claremont McKenna College

CLAREMONT, CA - APRIL 12: A campus tour takes place at Claremont McKenna College on Monday, April 12, 2021 in Claremont, CA. The school has reopened in-person tours after shutting them down last year amid the pandemic. The college tour is a key aid in helping students make their big decisions. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

Claremont McKenna College is located in Claremont, a city not far from Los Angeles. Ten percent of people who apply to the school are accepted, Niche said.

8. Pomona College

The grounds on the Pomona College Campus in California. (Photo by Ted Soqui/Corbis via Getty Images)

The net price to attend Pomona College is $19,962, according to Niche. It was found to be the second-best liberal arts college in the country behind Harvey Mudd, according to Niche’s rankings.

9. Princeton University

Alumni of this Ivy League school located in New Jersey are paid salaries of $60,000 in their first year out of school, according to Niche. After six years, median alumni salaries are reportedly $74,700.