- Best Colleges 2026
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Top Rated Colleges
Introducing 2026’s 5-star colleges
- Amherst College
- Babson College
- Berea College
- Bowdoin College
- Brown University
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College
- California Institute of Technology
- California State University, Fresno
- California State University, Long Beach
- California State University, Los Angeles
- California State University, San Bernardino
- California State University, Stanislaus
- Columbia University in the City of New York
- Cornell University
- Dartmouth College
- Duke University
- Georgia Institute of Technology
- Harvard University
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Northwestern University
- Princeton University
- Rice University
- San Jose State University
- Stanford University
- University of California, Berkeley
- University of California, Davis
- University of California, Irvine
- University of California, San Diego
- University of Chicago
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- University of Michigan
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
- University of Notre Dame
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of Virginia
- University of Wisconsin-Madison
- Vanderbilt University
- Washington University in St Louis
- Washington and Lee University
- Wellesley College
- Williams College
- Yale University
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Best Colleges in the West
About 80% of the top-scoring schools in the western half of the country are public universities, thanks in part to California’s strong public university systems. Here’s a look at the best in the region.
| College Name
|
Est. Price With Average Aid
|
Graduation Rate
|
Median Student Debt
|
Median Earnings for Recent Graduates
|
Typical Early Career Earnings
|
|
| $17,600 | 66% | $11,069 | $50,157 | $77,018 | ||
| $15,300 | 94% | N/A | $102,669 | $152,843 | ||
| $18,400 | 86% | $18,500 | $62,831 | $90,662 | ||
| $12,590 | 75% | $16,000 | $43,850 | $71,138 | ||
| $6,840 | 65% | $16,600 | $38,105 | $59,109 | ||
| $11,210 | 72% | $15,000 | $37,645 | $59,304 | ||
| $15,430 | 73% | $16,552 | $42,772 | $65,228 | ||
| $9,670 | 67% | $13,807 | $37,973 | $58,922 | ||
| $10,390 | 67% | $16,544 | $47,959 | $72,596 | ||
| $8,260 | 68% | $14,505 | $36,356 | $59,992 | ||
|
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| $7,450 | 79% | $13,750 | $39,215 | $63,753 | ||
| $11,180 | 81% | $14,289 | $38,082 | $63,140 | ||
| $4,700 | 66% | $13,000 | $37,248 | $59,756 | ||
| $15,280 | 74% | $12,750 | $38,154 | $62,324 | ||
| $7,950 | 69% | $13,872 | $36,905 | $59,664 | ||
| $10,660 | 71% | $15,000 | $42,434 | $64,511 | ||
| $5,520 | 69% | $14,715 | $34,196 | $55,441 | ||
| $10,800 | 66% | $17,350 | $42,878 | $67,891 | ||
| $7,840 | 68% | $13,540 | $38,193 | $58,952 | ||
| $35,740 | 91% | $13,500 | $68,541 | $110,798 | ||
| $31,550 | 82% | $23,000 | $76,390 | $100,252 | ||
| $39,490 | 79% | $27,000 | $66,880 | $95,437 | ||
| $16,090 | 67% | $23,146 | $42,313 | $63,285 | ||
| $42,300 | 88% | $24,454 | $53,993 | $80,896 | ||
| $46,360 | 92% | $25,000 | $107,923 | $137,100 | ||
| $16,410 | 56% | $14,573 | $41,593 | $62,898 | ||
| $31,560 | 75% | $25,000 | $69,076 | $81,180 | ||
| $26,400 | 65% | $25,000 | $66,420 | $81,115 | ||
| $21,020 | 95% | $11,782 | $41,100 | $77,544 | ||
| $10,750 | 62% | $20,500 | $41,313 | $62,060 | ||
| $15,500 | 83% | $15,000 | $42,235 | $68,268 | ||
| $13,880 | 67% | $15,371 | $41,145 | $67,804 | ||
| $14,650 | 78% | $15,000 | $58,993 | $89,614 | ||
| $15,410 | 68% | $16,705 | $41,936 | $65,997 | ||
| $26,440 | 95% | $12,000 | $89,527 | $136,959 | ||
| $26,170 | 84% | $18,000 | $33,084 | $49,755 | ||
| $17,440 | 94% | $13,000 | $57,445 | $96,018 | ||
| $18,210 | 88% | $13,000 | $41,123 | $73,086 | ||
| $16,750 | 88% | $15,000 | $40,474 | $74,438 | ||
| $15,300 | 93% | $14,000 | $41,763 | $77,677 | ||
| $14,430 | 69% | $16,144 | $39,692 | $65,410 | ||
| $15,350 | 78% | $17,500 | $33,932 | $64,926 | ||
| $14,810 | 88% | $15,500 | $44,612 | $83,130 | ||
| $18,620 | 87% | $13,993 | $38,259 | $70,323 | ||
| $19,040 | 79% | $16,666 | $37,107 | $67,085 | ||
| $32,670 | 79% | $21,370 | $59,965 | $80,459 | ||
| $45,770 | 93% | $18,000 | $63,275 | $95,739 | ||
| $12,420 | 85% | $14,615 | $53,990 | $82,515 | ||
| $19,160 | 66% | $19,500 | $49,447 | $73,467 | ||
No results match.
TOP
Notes: Prices for the 2026-2027 academic year use the most recently available data as reported to IPEDS plus an inflation measure to estimate the prices for the upcoming year. Graduation rate measures degree completion within six years for both first-time and transfer students. Early career earnings are the median earnings for graduates four years after leaving school
Sources: U.S. Department of Education, Peterson’s, Money/Witlytic calculations.
