70 Pennsylvania Colleges Make Money's 2020-21 'Best' List

Pennsylvania was well-represented on a new list of the best values in higher education in the United States.

More than six months into the new coronavirus pandemic, colleges are struggling to resume in-person classes and, in some cases, reverting back to online courses only days into the new semester.

Such challenges raise a question: Is a college degree today worth the actual cost?

Enter Money magazine. The publication this week released its annual ranking of the best colleges for the money. The list includes 70 schools in Pennsylvania.

University of Pennsylvania is the state's top-ranking school on the list, coming in at No. 30 on the list of more than 700 colleges and universities. It is followed by Swarthmore (43), Lafayette College (97), Lehigh (110), Carnegie Mellon (117) and Franklin & Marshall (124).

For the 2020 list, colleges included in Money’s rankings had to meet certain criteria, such as having a graduation rate at or above the median and having at least 500 students. Colleges were then ranked based on 26 factors in three categories: quality of education, affordability and outcomes.

Each category is weighted equally in calculating the rankings.

See the full methodology used by Money.

The following colleges in Pennsylvania were included on this year’s list:

• University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (30)
• Swarthmore College, Swarthmore (43)
• Lafayette College, Easton (97)
• Lehigh University, Bethlehem (110)
• Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh (117)
• Franklin & Marshall College, Lancaster (124)
• Haverford College, Haverford (125)
• Holy Family University, Philadelphia (152)
• Saint Vincent College, Latrobe (159)
• West Chester University of Pennsylvania, West Chester (174)
• Gettysburg College, Gettysburg (185)
• Bucknell University, Lewisburg (188)
• La Salle University, Philadelphia (193)
• Villanova University, Villanova (199)
• University of the Sciences, Philadelphia (229)
• Dickinson College, Carlisle (233)
• Gannon University, Erie (247)
• Messiah College, Mechanicsburg (248)
• Gwynedd Mercy University, Gwynedd Valley (263)
• University of Scranton, Scranton (274)
• Pennsylvania State University, University Park (278)
• University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus, Pittsburgh (280)
• Temple University, Philadelphia (284)
• Duquesne University, Pittsburgh (288)
• Susquehanna University, Selinsgrove (294)
• Saint Joseph's University, Philadelphia (295)
• Muhlenberg College, Allentown (308)
• Lebanon Valley College, Annville (310)
• Saint Francis University, Loretto (320)
• Juniata College, Huntingdon (328)
• Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania, Slippery Rock (337)
• Waynesburg University, Waynesburg (339)
• Allegheny College, Meadville (341)
• Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania, Bloomsburg (384)
• Westminster College, New Wilmington (396)
• Drexel University, Philadelphia (431)
• Ursinus College, Collegeville (433)
• Washington & Jefferson College, Washington (455)
• Lycoming College, Williamsport (456)
• Misericordia University, Dallas (481)
• Bryn Mawr College, Bryn Mawr (496)
• Elizabethtown College, Elizabethtown (505)
• DeSales University, Center Valley (531)
• Moravian College, Bethlehem (537)
• Widener University, Chester (548)
• California University of Pennsylvania, California (567)
• Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, Shippensburg (577)
• Geneva College, Beaver Falls (583)
• Millersville University of Pennsylvania, Millersville (590)
• Chatham University, Pittsburgh (599)
• Cabrini University, Radnor (605)
• Neumann University, Aston (610)
• Immaculata University, Immaculata (621)
• Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion (629)
• Eastern University, Saint Davids (630)
• Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, Kutztown (631)
• Carlow University, Pittsburgh (638)
• Marywood University, Scranton (645)
• Chestnut Hill College, Philadelphia (646)
• La Roche University, Pittsburgh (651)
• Seton Hill University, Greensburg (658)
• Lock Haven University, Lock Haven (669)
• Robert Morris University, Moon Township (671)
• Indiana University of Pennsylvania, Indiana (685)
• Mercyhurst University, Erie (688)
• King's College, Wilkes-Barre (690)
• Point Park University, Pittsburgh (699)
• Lincoln University, Lincoln University (713)
• Arcadia University, Glenside (715)
• Keystone College, La Plume (734)

According to Money, the top 10 colleges for your money are:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
2. Stanford University, Stanford, California.
3. Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey
4. University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
5. Duke University, Durham, North Carolina
6. University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
7. Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
8. Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
9. University of California-San Diego
10. University of California-Davis

See the full rankings and read more about Money’s list.