- Niche, a research firm that tracks K-12 and higher education, released its annual list of the best colleges to attend in 2021. The company assessed off 12 factors, including value for financial investment and academic rigor.
- MIT, Harvard, and Stanford were the top three, in that order.
- Below are the top 30 universities to attend in 2021.
- Also listed is acceptance rate, average cost to attend, undergraduate enrollment, and how much students earn six years after graduating.
- Niche reported each college’s estimate of the average cost to attend after financial aid for students receiving grant or scholarship aid.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
30. Carleton College — Northfield, Minnesota
Acceptance rate: 20%
Net cost to attend: $32,336
Undergraduate enrollment: 2,077
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $54,200
29. University of Virginia — Charlottesville, Virginia
Acceptance rate: 26%
Net cost to attend: $17,845
Undergraduate enrollment: 15,990
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $61,200
28. Harvey Mudd College — Claremont, California
Acceptance rate: 14%
Net cost to attend: $38,768
Undergraduate enrollment: 887
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $88,800
27. Georgia Institute of Technology — Atlanta, Georgia
Acceptance rate: 22%
Net cost to attend: $16,950
Undergraduate enrollment: 14,318
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $79,100
26. Bowdoin College — Brunswick, Maine
Acceptance rate: 10%
Net cost to attend: $24,831
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,825
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $65,500
25. Georgetown University — Washington, DC
Acceptance rate: 15%
Net cost to attend: $28,509
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,990
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $93,500
24. University of California, Los Angeles — Los Angeles, California
Acceptance rate: 14%
Net cost to attend: $15,002
Undergraduate enrollment: 31,009
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $60,700
23. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor — Ann Arbor, Michigan
Acceptance rate: 23%
Net cost to attend: $16,856
Undergraduate enrollment: 29,245
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $63,400
22. Carnegie Mellon University — Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Acceptance rate: 17%
Net cost to attend: $30,847
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,343
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $83,600
21. Johns Hopkins University — Baltimore, Maryland
Acceptance rate: 11%
Net cost to attend: $27,868
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,595
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $73,200
20. Pomona College — Claremont, California
Acceptance rate: 8%
Net cost to attend: $16,988
Undergraduate enrollment: 1,559
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $58,100
19. University of Southern California — Los Angeles, California
Acceptance rate: 13%
Net cost to attend: $36,161
Undergraduate enrollment: 19,194
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $74,000
18. Cornell University — Ithaca, New York
Acceptance rate: 11%
Net cost to attend: $28,890
Undergraduate enrollment: 15,175
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $77,200
17. University of Chicago — Chicago, Illinois
Acceptance rate: 7%
Net cost to attend: $33,003
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,600
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $68,100
16. University of Notre Dame — Notre Dame, Indiana
Acceptance rate: 18%
Net cost to attend: $30,229
Undergraduate enrollment: 8,607
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $78,400
15. Washington University in St. Louis — Saint Louis, Missouri
Acceptance rate: 15%
Net cost to attend: $27,931
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,146
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $70,100
14. Northwestern University — Evanston, Illinois
Acceptance rate: 8%
Net cost to attend: $27,540
Undergraduate enrollment: 8,161
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $69,000
13. Dartmouth College — Hanover, New Hampshire
Acceptance rate: 9%
Net cost to attend: $23,394
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,357
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $75,500
12. Columbia University — New York, New York
Acceptance rate: 6%
Net cost to attend: $21,220
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,666
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $83,300
11. Vanderbilt University — Nashville, Tennessee
Acceptance rate: 10%
Net cost to attend: $23,596
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,789
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $69,000
10. University of Pennsylvania — Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Acceptance rate: 8%
Net cost to attend: $26,266
Undergraduate enrollment: 10,605
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $85,900
9. Brown University — Providence, Rhode Island
Acceptance rate: 8%
Net cost to attend: $27,238
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,735
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $67,500
8. California Institute of Technology — Pasadena, California
Acceptance rate: 7%
Net cost to attend: $26,361
Undergraduate enrollment: 948
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $85,900
7. Rice University — Houston, Texas
Acceptance rate: 11%
Net cost to attend: $23,202
Undergraduate enrollment: 3,899
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $65,400
6. Princeton University — Princeton, New Jersey
Acceptance rate: 5%
Net cost to attend: $16,192
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,321
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $74,700
5. Duke University — Durham, North Carolina
Acceptance rate: 9%
Net cost to attend: $19,785
Undergraduate enrollment: 6,659
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $84,400
4. Yale University — New Haven, Connecticut
Acceptance rate: 6%
Net cost to attend: $18,748
Undergraduate enrollment: 5,939
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $83,200
3. Stanford University — Stanford, California
Acceptance rate: 4%
Net cost to attend: $17,271
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,087
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $94,000
2. Harvard University — Cambridge, Massachusetts
Acceptance rate: 5%
Net cost to attend: $17,590
Undergraduate enrollment: 7,210
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $89,700
1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology — Cambridge, Massachusetts
Acceptance rate: 7%
Net cost to attend: $18,971
Undergraduate enrollment: 4,557
Median earnings 6 years after graduating: $104,700