9. University of California-Santa Cruz, CA
Elena Zhukova—Courtesy of University of California-Santa Cruz
- Estimated price 2016-17 without aid: $35,600
- Estimated price 2016-17 with average aid: $26,200
- Early career earnings: $49,600
- Average SAT/AVT score: 1095/23
Imagine going to school on a 2,000-acre ranch. Well, you almost can at UC Santa Cruz, where the campus was once a timber ranch and limestone mine. Students take classes among the redwood trees and party on the sprawling meadows overlooking Monterey Bay. The more than 16,000 undergrads and 1,600 grad students at this public research university live in a veritable nature bubble an hour and a half from San Francisco. Although the campus is huge, all UC Santa Cruz undergrads belong to one of 10 residential colleges, fostering a smaller community feel.