25 Least Affordable Colleges (Photos)
These schools are not only expensive, their graduation rates are less impressive than those of their competitors.
The Daily Beast
The Daily Beast compared institutions based on the average net price students paid after need-based aid, which accounted for 80 percent of the final ranking. We figured the other 20 percent by looking at the six-year graduation rate of each school to find those that are not affordable relative to other colleges. To be fair, these schools are the “worst” of the best as we only considered schools with a graduation rate of at least 75 percent.
Quinn Ryan/The Daily Beast
#25
University of Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
6-Year Graduation Rate: 83%
Average net price: $31,490
ArtP/Alamy
#24
George Washington University
Washington, District of Columbia
6-Year Graduation Rate: 80%
Average net price: $31,443
The Washington Post
#23
Furman University
Greenville, South Carolina
6-Year Graduation Rate: 83%
Average net price: $32,163
Patti McConville/Alamy
#22
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, Pennsylvania
6-Year Graduation Rate: 87%
Average net price: $32,841
MCT
#21
Hobart and William Smith Colleges
Geneva, New York
6-Year Graduation Rate: 76%
Average net price: $31,086
Peter Steiner/Alamy
#20
Stonehill College
Easton, Massachusetts
6-Year Graduation Rate: 80%
Average net price: $31,743
Boston Globe/Getty
#19
Wake Forest University
Winston Salem, North Carolina
6-Year Graduation Rate: 87%
Average net price: $32,868
Andre Jenny/Alamy
#18
Providence College
Providence, Rhode Island
6-Year Graduation Rate: 87%
Average net price: $33,023
Providence College/Facebook
#17
Union College
Schenectady, New York
6-Year Graduation Rate: 83%
Average net price: $32,633
Philip Scalia/Alamy
#16
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
6-Year Graduation Rate: 87%
Average net price: $33,257
AFP/Getty
#15
Seattle University
Seattle, Washington
6-Year Graduation Rate: 78%
Average net price: $31,961
Mary Knox Merrill/Getty
#14
Boston University
Boston, Massachusetts
6-Year Graduation Rate: 84%
Average net price: $33,172
AFP/Getty
#13
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado
6-Year Graduation Rate: 76%
Average net price: $32,188
Doug Pensinger/Getty
#12
Bryant University
Smithfield, Rhode Island
6-Year Graduation Rate: 80%
Average net price: $33,111
#11
Whitman College
Walla Walla, Washington
6-Year Graduation Rate: 87%
Average net price: $34,399
William Mancebo/Getty
#10
American University
Washington, District of Columbia
6-Year Graduation Rate: 77%
Average net price: $32,688
The Washington Post
#9
Fairfield University
Fairfield, Connecticut
6-Year Graduation Rate: 81%
Average net price: $33,466
Boston Globe/Getty
#8
Marist College
Poughkeepsie, New York
6-Year Graduation Rate: 80%
Average net price: $33,426
Creative Commons/slgckgc
#7
Fordham University
Bronx, New York
6-Year Graduation Rate: 81%
Average net price: $34,311
Peter Titmuss/Getty
#6
University of San Diego
San Diego, California
6-Year Graduation Rate: 76%
Average net price: $33,334
Creative Commons/O Palsson
#5
University of Puget Sound
Tacoma, Washington
6-Year Graduation Rate: 77%
Average net price: $33,439
Kevin Casey/Getty
#4
New York University
New York, New York
6-Year Graduation Rate: 85%
Average net price: $37,656
Andrew Burton/Getty
#3
Saint Joseph's University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
6-Year Graduation Rate: 79%
Average net price: $35,408
Wikimedia Commons
#2
Quinnipiac University
Hamden, Connecticut
6-Year Graduation Rate: 75%
Average net price: $35,544
Wikimedia Commons
#1
Loyola Marymount University
Los Angeles, California
6-Year Graduation Rate: 75%
Average net price: $36,687
AFP/Getty
See more of our coverage in your search results.
Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.
Register below to read this article for free or subscribe
to unlock unlimited access to The Daily Beast.
Monthly
$1
First month then $5.99/month
Annual
$35
First year then $59.99/year
Premium
$79
First year then $119.99/year
*Substack access provided by the next business day, using your subscription email. Choosing the Premium plan constitutes your permission to share your subscription email with Substack and your agreement to Substack’s Privacy Policy.
Already have an account? Sign In
Looks like you already have a subscription!
You're all set!
Thanks for subscribing.