What’s Wrong with These 135 Colleges…and Does it Matter?

searching for Affordable collegesYou may have missed the excitement last May when Ronald Nelson announced he was going to attend the University of Alabama. This was a big deal not because Alabama had grabbed the top football recruit in the nation. It was a big deal because Nelson was actually accepted at all eight Ivy League schools, Stanford, Johns Hopkins, and Washington University in St. Louis. He turned them all down to attend the honors college at the University of Alabama.

At the time, his decision caught my eye because of some of the smug, if not insulting, comments made by individuals with a vested interest to promote the superiority of an Ivy League education.

Ultimately, Nelson decided to go to the University of Alabama to save money so that he can afford to attend med school. And he doesn’t seem to think that a degree from Alabama is going to keep him from getting his MD.

The fact is that there are plenty of colleges and universities where students can  get an excellent education while saving some serious cash. Of course, many families worry if affordable colleges will be “challenging” enough or if the student will have intellectual peers. It seems safer, if not more expensive, to go with the “brand name” school.

Yet, the thing is that people who are good enough to get accepted at the list of schools Nelson rejected, are quite capable of succeeding anywhere. So why not spend some time looking for cheaper alternatives?

So how to get started? Let’s begin with the need for intellectual peers. There are 309 colleges and universities where the 75th percentile test score for the freshman class was at least at the 90th percentile for the test-or almost. For the SAT, the 90th percentile score for Critical Reading and Math was 1310. I used 1300. For the ACT, the 90th percentile was 28. There are 309 schools that have a 75th percentile score of either 1300 for the SAT or 28 for the ACT. That means a quarter of the freshman class would rank in the top 10% of the country in test taking.

Yes, I know all of the problems associated with test scores but they’re the same ones that come with college rankings anyway.

To continue, of the 309 schools, 137 do not show up in the top 100 of US News Best National Universities or National Liberal Arts Colleges. The question is “what’s wrong with these schools” and does the answer matter to you if they offer significant merit aid?

The reality is that there are a variety of reasons why these schools didn’t make the list and each school will be different. Furthermore, just because they didn’t make the top 100 nationally doesn’t automatically mean they are more generous with financial aid. A total of 29 of the schools have an average net price of over $30,000, never a good sign for merit aid.

However, 73 of the private institutions have an average net price of less than $30,000 with 15 at less than $20,000.  At 83 of the private schools, 90% or more of freshman are receiving institutional aid and 43 of them have average awards of $15,000 or greater. Thirteen averaged over $20,000.

Like I said, you really have to look at each school.

At 24 schools, 15% or more of the undergraduates have parents taking out PLUS loans for an average of at least $12,000–at least $20,000 for ten of the schools.

But students at 48 schools had Median 10 Year Earnings above the average of $42,700 for all schools.

The point of this is to show that there is no magic list of schools that will ensure a great fit at an affordable price. However, there are places you can start looking for affordable colleges.

The following list of 135 colleges and universities that meet the 75th percentile test scores discussed earlier. The four-year graduation rate is used for private schools, the five-year rate for public.

Alternatives to Top 100 National Universities and Liberal Arts Colleges
(Download PDF version)

NameTypeStateFull-
time
Under-
grads
4/5 yr
Grad
Rate
Avg Net
Price After
Gift Aid
(2012-2013)
Birmingham Southern CollegePrivateAL11675323522
Samford UniversityPrivateAL28504925626
University of Alabama at BirminghamPublicAL83574613745
University of Alabama in HuntsvillePublicAL42373713208
Harding UniversityPrivateAR41054016578
John Brown UniversityPrivateAR15715517552
Lyon CollegePrivateAR5624314307
University of ArkansasPublicAR185655512057
Arizona State University-TempePublicAZ349895512380
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-PrescottPrivateAZ17533734426
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis ObispoPublicCA180586117365
Chapman UniversityPrivateCA57535932932
Loyola Marymount UniversityPrivateCA59356736650
Mills CollegePrivateCA9225326773
Point Loma Nazarene UniversityPrivateCA24836229013
Santa Clara UniversityPrivateCA53387738844
University of the PacificPrivateCA37804033437
Vanguard University of Southern CaliforniaPrivateCA15764722744
Eckerd CollegePrivateFL19475930352
Florida Institute of TechnologyPrivateFL30683932192
Rollins CollegePrivateFL23666132225
Stetson UniversityPrivateFL26925621975
University of Central FloridaPublicFL362296115033
University of South Florida-Main CampusPublicFL237345711335
Berry CollegePrivateGA21075022978
Covenant CollegePrivateGA10504821500
Mercer UniversityPrivateGA36594419733
Coe CollegePrivateIA13516120934
Dordt CollegePrivateIA13455424028
Drake UniversityPrivateIA31856126330
Iowa State UniversityPublicIA261776314095
Northwest Nazarene UniversityPrivateID11363218969
Bradley UniversityPrivateIL46185525683
DePaul UniversityPrivateIL135945429165
Illinois Institute of TechnologyPrivateIL27123221201
Lake Forest CollegePrivateIL15715825312
School of the Art Institute of ChicagoPrivateIL24693143489
Butler UniversityPrivateIN39745130991
Goshen CollegePrivateIN7455419773
Hanover CollegePrivateIN11586822398
Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyPrivateIN21866636613
Taylor UniversityPrivateIN18526525126
University of EvansvillePrivateIN22905321224
Valparaiso UniversityPrivateIN31365821869
Benedictine CollegePrivateKS17504322242
University of KansasPublicKS171935616923
University of KentuckyPublicKY198845514839
University of LouisvillePublicKY124264713875
Centenary College of LouisianaPrivateLA5714919845
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical CollegePublicLA228116212882
Loyola University New OrleansPrivateLA27414423419
Babson CollegePrivateMA21068425041
Bentley UniversityPrivateMA41428130501
Emerson CollegePrivateMA36688033371
Gordon CollegePrivateMA16685828500
Simmons CollegePrivateMA15776629907
Loyola University MarylandPrivateMD39517931306
Maryland Institute College of ArtPrivateMD17596737718
University of Maryland-Baltimore CountyPublicMD95085914321
Calvin CollegePrivateMI38145725100
Kettering UniversityPrivateMI15901131875
Lawrence Technological UniversityPrivateMI15361624908
Michigan Technological UniversityPublicMI51985815434
University of Detroit MercyPrivateMI21963524223
Bethel UniversityPrivateMN26146326837
Concordia College at MoorheadPrivateMN24886221075
University of Minnesota-MorrisPublicMN18156114536
University of St ThomasPrivateMN60656332392
Drury UniversityPrivateMO30083221357
Missouri University of Science and TechnologyPublicMO54725615191
Rockhurst UniversityPrivateMO15466018784
Truman State UniversityPublicMO53757013060
University of Missouri-ColumbiaPublicMO252586716884
William Jewell CollegePrivateMO10125021859
Mississippi State UniversityPublicMS150485515422
William Carey UniversityPrivateMS18864614536
Campbell UniversityPrivateNC35373926163
Elon UniversityPrivateNC54647730272
Creighton UniversityPrivateNE38156727057
University of Nebraska-LincolnPublicNE181026115132
The College of New JerseyPublicNJ64558218464
New Mexico Institute of Mining and TechnologyPublicNM14183810735
Albany College of Pharmacy and Health SciencesPrivateNY10597229346
Clarkson UniversityPrivateNY30846125782
Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and ArtPrivateNY8636817263
CUNY Bernard M Baruch CollegePublicNY10396607955
Hofstra UniversityPrivateNY63785030947
Houghton CollegePrivateNY10236520920
Polytechnic Institute of New York UniversityPrivateNY20333328986
Rochester Institute of TechnologyPrivateNY121062827639
SUNY College at GeneseoPublicNY53867715917
Cedarville UniversityPrivateOH30446122648
Franciscan University of SteubenvillePrivateOH19896124474
Ohio Northern UniversityPrivateOH21945324002
University of Cincinnati-Main CampusPublicOH203325819310
University of DaytonPrivateOH74556030416
Oklahoma Christian UniversityPrivateOK18742819124
Oklahoma City UniversityPrivateOK17544925056
Oklahoma State University-Main CampusPublicOK177935514415
University of Oklahoma-Norman CampusPublicOK175595916780
University of PortlandPrivateOR34107030273
Elizabethtown CollegePrivatePA18087126528
Grove City CollegePrivatePA24387718272
Messiah CollegePrivatePA27017125639
Villanova UniversityPrivatePA65478630587
Providence CollegePrivateRI37988334388
Rhode Island School of DesignPrivateRI20057234259
College of CharlestonPublicSC97086216628
North Greenville UniversityPrivateSC19934114954
Presbyterian CollegePrivateSC10876017186
University of South Carolina-ColumbiaPublicSC225337017220
South Dakota School of Mines and TechnologyPublicSD19504015862
Belmont UniversityPrivateTN51175630357
Lipscomb UniversityPrivateTN25904422243
The University of Tennessee-KnoxvillePublicTN197996216062
Union UniversityPrivateTN21755121944
Dallas Baptist UniversityPrivateTX24634321724
LeTourneau UniversityPrivateTX13333421474
The University of Texas at DallasPublicTX10635598064
Trinity UniversityPrivateTX21117226013
University of DallasPrivateTX13655627841
University of St ThomasPrivateTX12692721900
Westminster CollegePrivateUT21404322688
Christopher Newport UniversityPublicVA49626420328
Randolph CollegePrivateVA6494622498
Champlain CollegePrivateVT23325032105
Saint Michael's CollegePrivateVT19596928218
Gonzaga UniversityPrivateWA48267130181
Northwest UniversityPrivateWA12213718923
Pacific Lutheran UniversityPrivateWA30105524489
Seattle Pacific UniversityPrivateWA32305425990
Seattle UniversityPrivateWA43775934340
Western Washington UniversityPublicWA129426414253
Milwaukee School of EngineeringPrivateWI22843922347
Ripon CollegePrivateWI8886020602

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