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Attending college is expensive. Thankfully, there are dozens of affordable public and private schools that offer financial aid to students in need. We compiled the 50 best colleges for your money, according to Niche , with MIT landing the top spot. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Attending a four-year university requires a long-term financial commitment, which sometimes lasts for decades.
Some families are forced to take out student loans, but they never see a return on their investment. Other families let their children skip college altogether to join a trade school . And according to experts , college tuition is only going to keep rising.
Thankfully, some private universities offer generous financial aid packages, while many states offer financial aid to resident students in need. We looked at Niche.com 's ranking for the best value schools, which measures value based on tuition, net price (the average cost after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid), and average income of alumni six years after graduating. The schools with only one tuition rate listed are private, and the schools with both in-state and out-of-state tuition are public.
Here are the 50 best colleges in America for your dollar.
50. Michigan Technological University — Houghton, Michigan
Tuition price:
In-state: $33,426
Out-of-state: $15,346
Net price: $17,139
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $64,700
49. Virginia Tech — Blacksburg, Virginia
Tuition price:
In-state: $13,230
Out-of-state: $31,014
Net price: $18,700
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $60,500
48. Clarkson University — Potsdam, New York
Tuition price: $47,950
Net price: $31,050
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $68,900
47. University of Chicago — Chicago, Illinois
Tuition price: $55,425
Net price: $34,834
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $65,500
46. Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, Maryland
Tuition price: $52,170
Net price: $29,066
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $69,800
45. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute — Troy, New York
Tuition price: $51,000
Net price: $37,648
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $77,900
44. Worcester Polytechnic Institute — Worcester, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $48,628
Net price: $43,027
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $82,600
43. Massachusetts Maritime Academy — Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts
Tuition price:
In-state: $8,398
Out-of-state: $25,824
Net price: $14,538
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $79,300
42. Washington University in St. Louis — St. Louis, Missouri
Tuition price: $51,533
Net price: $66,300
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $27,777
41. University of Virginia — Charlottesville, Virginia
Tuition price:
In-state: $16,853
Out-of-state: $47,273
Net price: $16,594
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $60,700
40. College of the Holy Cross — Worcester, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $49,980
Net price: $27,005
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $65,200
39. Williams College — Williamstown, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $53,550
Net price: $20,380
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $54,100
38. Villanova University — Villanova, Pennsylvania
Tuition price: $50,554
Net price: $35,491
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $74,500
37. Northwestern University — Evanston, Illinois
Tuition price: $52,678
Net price: $26,099
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $65,900
36. Vanderbilt University — Nashville, Tennessee
Tuition price: $47,664
Net price: $23,295
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $64,500
35. Bentley University — Waltham, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $48,000
Net price: $36,613
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $80,600
34. Boston College — Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $53,346
Net price: $27,299
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $70,000
33. Columbia University — New York, New York
Tuition price: $57,208
Net price: $22,824
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $78,200
32. Carleton College — Northfield, Minnesota
Tuition price: $52,782
Net price: $28,148
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $52,600
31. Virginia Military Institute — Lexington, Virginia
Tuition price:
In-state: $27,650
Out-of-state: $53,338
Net price: $16,085
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $63,200
30. Lafayette College — Easton, Pennsylvania
Tuition price: $51,600
Net price: $26,148
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $67,500
29. Claremont McKenna College — Claremont, California
Tuition price: $52,825
Net price: $28,712
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $75,000
28. Tufts University — Medford, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $54,318
Net price: $29,449
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $66,500
27. Brown University — Providence, Rhode Island
Tuition price: $53,419
Net price: $25,651
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $63,100
26. Dartmouth College — Hanover, New Hampshire
Tuition price: $53,496
Net price: $22,303
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $70,000
25. Stevens Institute of Technology — Hoboken, New Jersey
Tuition price: $52,394
Net price: $38,469
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $87,300
24. Colorado School of Mines — Golden, Colorado
Tuition price:
In-state: $18,386
Out-of-state: $37,436
Net price: $25,472
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $82,100
23. Carnegie Mellon University — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Tuition price: $53,910
Net price: $29,817
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $81,800
22. Georgetown University — Washington, DC
Tuition price: $52,300
Net price: $27,420
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $90,100
21. Lehigh University — Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Tuition price: $50,740
Net price: $26,933
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $77,200
20. Cornell University — Ithaca, New York
Tuition price: $52,853
Net price: $31,449
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $73,600
19. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology — Terre Haute, Indiana
Tuition price: $48,012
Net price: $41,536
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $79,200
18. Albany College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences — Albany, New York
Tuition price: $32,840
Net price: $30,359
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $122,600
17. Colgate University — Hamilton, New York
Tuition price: $55,530
Net price: $22,182
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $61,300
16. Harvey Mudd College — Claremont, California
Tuition price: $54,636
Net price: $38,135
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $74,200
15. Babson College — Wellesley, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $51,104
Net price: $29,847
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $91,400
14. St. Louis College of Pharmacy — St. Louis, Missouri
Tuition price: $28,451
Net price: $29,836
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $120,400
13. Washington & Lee University — Lexington, Virginia
Tuition price: $67,150
Net price: $25,029
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $72,300
12. Georgia Institute of Technology — Atlanta, Georgia
Tuition price:
In-state: $12,418
Out-of-state: $33,014
Net price: $15,873
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $75,800
11. Rice University — Houston, Texas
Tuition price: $45,608
Net price: $24,131
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $64,300
10. Princeton University — Princeton, New Jersey
Tuition price: $47,140
Net price: $16,302
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $80,500
9. University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Tuition price: $53,534
Net price: $24,539
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $82,400
8. California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, California
Tuition price: $49,908
Net price: $24,466
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $74,200
7. University of Notre Dame — Notre Dame, Indiana
Tuition price: $51,505
Net price: $27,453
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $71,600
6. United States Merchant Marine Academy — Kings Point, New York
Tuition price: $1,020
Net price: $4,870
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $78,900
5. Yale University — New Haven, Connecticut
Tuition price: $51,400
Net price: $18,053
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $83,200
4. Duke University — Durham, North Carolina
Tuition price: $53,744
Net price: $22,011
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $77,900
3. Harvard University — Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $48,949
Net price: $17,030
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $90,900
2. Stanford University — Stanford, California
Tuition price: $49,617
Net price: $16,562
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $85,700
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Cambridge, Massachusetts
Tuition price: $49,892
Net price: $22,230
Median earnings 6 years after graduation: $94,200
