20 Least Affordable Colleges (photos)
With relatively low graduation rates and high net prices, these are the country’s costliest schools.


Using the same method we used to find our most affordable schools, The Daily Beast ranked colleges based on the average net price (or price paid after need-based aid) and the graduation rate for each school to find those that are not affordable relative to other colleges. The average net price amounted to 80 percent of the final score weighting, while the six-year graduation rate accounted for 20 percent. Only those schools with a graduation rate of at least 75 percent were eligible for the list.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6-Year Grad Rate: 75.8%
Average Net Price: $34,856
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 5%
Average Debt of Graduates: $40,160
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 63%

Los Angeles, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 77%
Average Net Price: $32,654
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 4.5%
Average Debt of Graduates: $31,246
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 60%

Bronx, New York
6-Year Grad Rate: 77.6%
Average Net Price: $33,679
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 5%
Average Debt of Graduates: $38,150
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 64%
myLoupe/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Hamden, Connecticut
6-Year Grad Rate: 76.9%
Average Net Price: $32,158
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2.4%
Average Debt of Graduates: $39,500
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 69%
Richard Mei/AP

Geneva, New York
6-Year Grad Rate: 75.2%
Average Net Price: $31,546
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.6%
Average Debt of Graduates: $32,418
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 77%
Don Cochran

Washington, District of Columbia
6-Year Grad Rate: 77.2%
Average Net Price: $31,447
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 4.6%
Average Debt of Graduates: $37,674
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 58%
Jeff Watts/Courtesy of American University

Denver, Colorado
6-Year Grad Rate: 78.2%
Average Net Price: $31,244
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3%
Average Debt of Graduates: $26,628
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 44%
Wayne Armstrong

New York, New York
6-Year Grad Rate: 86.4%
Average Net Price: $36,834
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.6%
Average Debt of Graduates: $36,351
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 54%
Andria Patino/Corbis

Easton, Massachusetts
6-Year Grad Rate: 81.3%
Average Net Price: $31,893
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2.6%
Average Debt of Graduates: $29,440
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 71%

Smithfield, Rhode Island
6-Year Grad Rate: 77.2%
Average Net Price: $30,728
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.4%
Average Debt of Graduates: $37,813
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 79%
Pat Lovell/CSM/Landov

Allentown, Pennsylvania
6-Year Grad Rate: 85.6%
Average Net Price: $32,692
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.7%
Average Debt of Graduates: $26,270
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 64%
Matt Rourke/AP

Santa Barbara, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 77.1%
Average Net Price: $30,495
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2%
Average Debt of Graduates: $30,940
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 64%

Poughkeepsie, New York
6-Year Grad Rate: 80.3%
Average Net Price: $31,073
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2%
Average Debt of Graduates: $32,507
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 69%

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
6-Year Grad Rate: 87%
Average Net Price: $32,054
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.3%
Average Debt of Graduates: $29,303
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 46%
Carnegie Mellon University

Scranton, Pennsylvania
6-Year Grad Rate: 77.1%
Average Net Price: $29,475
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.8%
Average Debt of Graduates: $32,582
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 74%

Providence, Rhode Island
6-Year Grad Rate: 85%
Average Net Price: $31,165
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2.2%
Average Debt of Graduates: $32,850
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 74%
Bob Rowan/Corbis

Dallas, Texas
6-Year Grad Rate: 75.3%
Average Net Price: $29,140
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 6. 8%
Average Debt of Graduates: $26,297
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 38%
Brooks Kraft/Corbis

Rochester, New York
6-Year Grad Rate: 83.1%
Average Net Price: $30,458
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2.2%
Average Debt of Graduates: $28,100
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 64%
J. Adam Fenster/University of Rochester

Winston Salem, North Carolina
6-Year Grad Rate: 88.2%
Average Net Price: $31,185
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.4%
Average Debt of Graduates: $35,070
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 39%
Ken Bennett

Gambier, Ohio
6-Year Grad Rate: 86.8%
Average Net Price: $30,779
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.5%
Average Debt of Graduates: $19,480
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 55%
Brian Gray/Getty
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