(NEXSTAR) – High school seniors often talk about their dream school while applying for college, but what about the best value school?
Despite conjuring up visions of commuting from mom and dad's house to a reasonably-priced city college, the latest ranking of the "Best Value Colleges" by Niche has a number of Ivy League institutions in the top 25.
Value, according to Niche, an education data and review site, was defined for the study using 15 different factors – many of which were measured in the years after graduation.
The two most heavily-weighted factors were the average return on investment by 30 and the economic mobility index, followed by the average net price, graduation rate, loan default rate, median earnings one year after graduation and median earnings six years after graduation.
For the second straight year in a row, Harvey Mudd College in the greater Los Angeles area took the top spot. The small private college in Claremont, California had about 900 students in 2024 and is known for its low acceptance rate with around 13% of applicants admitted. Graduates of Harvey Mudd go on to make a starting salary over $72,000, according to Niche.
In second place is Stanford University, an elite private university in tony Stanford, California. The school is both larger than Harvey Mudd – the student body included over 7,700 students in 2024 – and more competitive, with an acceptance rate of only 4%. On average, Stanford alumni made a starting salary of just over $70,000 last year.
The last university in the top three, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, had the highest starting salary with MIT grads going on to make over $82,000 on average after graduating. While academically elite, some students were less excited about the athletics programs at the Cambridge, Massachusetts institution.
Deciding on a college is a huge life decision, made weightier by the jaw-dropping price tag that can come with admission. The cost can run up as high as $95,000, with several private colleges exceeding the $90,000 threshold this year, according to the Associated Press.
When it comes to the best value for your money, here are the rest of the top schools, according to Niche:
| University | Metro Area | State |
| Harvey Mudd College | Los Angeles Area | CA |
| Stanford University | San Francisco Bay Area | CA |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Boston Area | MA |
| California Institute of Technology | Los Angeles Area | CA |
| Yale University | CT | |
| Harvard University | Boston Area | MA |
| Claremont McKenna College | Los Angeles Area | CA |
| Pomona College | Los Angeles Area | CA |
| Princeton University | NJ | |
| University of Pennsylvania | Philadelphia Area | PA |
| Williams College | MA | |
| Dartmouth College | NH | |
| Rice University | Houston Area | TX |
| Duke University | Raleigh Area | NC |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | Atlanta Area | GA |
| CUNY Baruch College | New York City Area | NY |
| Carnegie Mellon University | Pittsburgh Area | PA |
| Columbia University | New York City Area | NY |
| Johns Hopkins University | Baltimore Area | MD |
| New Mexico Tech | NM | |
| Lehman College - City University of New York (CUNY) | New York City Area | NY |
| Georgetown University | Washington, D.C. Area | DC |
| Amherst College | Springfield, MA Area | MA |
| California State University - Maritime Academy | San Francisco Bay Area | CA |
Niche data scientists used information from the U.S. Dept. of Education and the Census Bureau, along with results of student surveys, to create the "Best Value Colleges" study. See the website for more information on the methodology.
Niche's annual rankings span a wide variety of education-related topics, from the best campuses to the top party schools in America.
