- There are many wonderful colleges and universities in the US that are sometimes overlooked in major rankings.
- College preparation and admissions consulting firm CollegeVine identified 50 colleges that offer great educational and career opportunities but don’t always appear at the top of traditional lists.
- Binghamton University, San Jose State, and City College of New York land in the top five.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
While top-rated US colleges are household names, there are plenty of other, sometimes overlooked, schools that offer great educational and career opportunities.
College preparation and admissions consulting firm CollegeVine assembled a ranking of the most underrated colleges and universities in the US. To compile the ranking, it evaluated several career- and outcome-based metrics for each of the schools, including cost of attendance and financial aid, career outcomes, and overall return on investment.
Read more: Here’s the most educated town in every state
Schools were given a score out of 100 for each of those metrics, with schools being rewarded for scoring better on those measures than their traditional rankings from publications like US News & World Report would suggest.
Here are the 50 most underrated colleges in the US, according to CollegeVine's measures:
50. Hofstra University
Location: Hempstead, New York
Overall score: 79.0
Career outcomes score: 86
Cost and financial aid score: 64
Return on investment score: 87
49. Carnegie Mellon
Location: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Overall score: 80.7
Career outcomes score: 99
Cost and financial aid score: 64
Return on investment score: 79
48. Stevens Institute of Technology
Location: Hoboken, New Jersey
Overall score: 81.0
Career outcomes score: 88
Cost and financial aid score: 70
Return on investment score: 85
47. University of Oklahoma
Location: Norman, Oklahoma
Overall score: 81.7
Career outcomes score: 76
Cost and financial aid score: 92
Return on investment score: 77
46. University of Arizona
Location: Tucson, Arizona
Overall score: 82.3
Career outcomes score: 76
Cost and financial aid score: 96
Return on investment score: 75
44 (tie). University of Delaware
Location: Newark, Delaware
Overall score: 83.0
Career outcomes score: 75
Cost and financial aid score: 93
Return on investment score: 81
44 (tie). Brigham Young University
Location: Provo, Utah
Overall score: 83.0
Career outcomes score: 81
Cost and financial aid score: 85
Return on investment score: 83
43. Bucknell University
Location: Lewisburg, Pennsylvania
Overall score: 83.7
Career outcomes score: 89
Cost and financial aid score: 76
Return on investment score: 86
42. North Carolina State University
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Overall score: 84.3
Career outcomes score: 76
Cost and financial aid score: 92
Return on investment score: 85
41. American University
Location: Washington, DC
Overall score: 84.7
Career outcomes score: 93
Cost and financial aid score: 68
Return on investment score: 93
40. Virginia Tech
Location: Blacksburg, Virginia
Overall score: 85.3
Career outcomes score: 76
Cost and financial aid score: 97
Return on investment score: 83
38 (tie). Saint Louis University
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Overall score: 86.0
Career outcomes score: 86
Cost and financial aid score: 84
Return on investment score: 88
38 (tie). Case Western
Location: Cleveland, Ohio
Overall score: 86.0
Career outcomes score: 95
Cost and financial aid score: 79
Return on investment score: 84
37. University of Arkansas
Location: Fayetteville, Arkansas
Overall score: 86.3
Career outcomes score: 79
Cost and financial aid score: 97
Return on investment score: 83
36. Louisiana Tech
Location: Ruston, Louisiana
Overall score: 87.3
Career outcomes score: 81
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 82
35. Louisiana State
Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Overall score: 88.0
Career outcomes score: 81
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 84
33 (tie). Oregon State University
Location: Corvallis, Oregon
Overall score: 88.7
Career outcomes score: 82
Cost and financial aid score: 96
Return on investment score: 88
33 (tie). San Diego State
Location: San Diego, California
Overall score: 88.7
Career outcomes score: 82
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 85
32. The College of New Jersey
Location: Ewing Township, New Jersey
Overall score: 89.0
Career outcomes score: 84
Cost and financial aid score: 97
Return on investment score: 86
31. Oberlin College
Location: Oberlin, Ohio
Overall score: 89.3
Career outcomes score: 97
Cost and financial aid score: 77
Return on investment score: 94
30. University of Nebraska – Lincoln
Location: Lincoln, Nebraska
Overall score: 89.7
Career outcomes score: 87
Cost and financial aid score: 98
Return on investment score: 84
29. Ursinus College
Location: Collegeville, Pennsylvania
Overall score: 90.0
Career outcomes score: 92
Cost and financial aid score: 88
Return on investment score: 90
27 (tie). University of Illinois – Chicago
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Overall score: 90.7
Career outcomes score: 89
Cost and financial aid score: 96
Return on investment score: 87
27 (tie). University of Kansas
Location: Lawrence, Kansas
Overall score: 90.7
Career outcomes score: 86
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 87
25 (tie). Drexel University
Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Overall score: 91.0
Career outcomes score: 95
Cost and financial aid score: 85
Return on investment score: 93
25 (tie). Kansas State University
Location: Manhattan, Kansas
Overall score: 91.0
Career outcomes score: 87
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 87
24. Miami University – Oxford
Location: Oxford, Ohio
Overall score: 91.3
Career outcomes score: 92
Cost and financial aid score: 89
Return on investment score: 93
21 (tie). University of New Mexico
Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico
Overall score: 91.7
Career outcomes score: 85
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 91
21 (tie). Oklahoma State University
Location: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Overall score: 91.7
Career outcomes score: 85
Cost and financial aid score: 100
Return on investment score: 90
21 (tie). University of Texas – El Paso
Location: El Paso, Texas
Overall score: 91.7
Career outcomes score: 83
Cost and financial aid score: 100
Return on investment score: 92
20. Texas Tech University
Location: Lubbock, Texas
Overall score: 93.0
Career outcomes score: 88
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 92
19. University of Utah
Location: Salt Lake City, Utah
Overall score: 93.3
Career outcomes score: 89
Cost and financial aid score: 100
Return on investment score: 91
18. University of Idaho
Location: Moscow, Idaho
Overall score: 93.7
Career outcomes score: 90
Cost and financial aid score: 100
Return on investment score: 91
14 (tie). Santa Clara University
Location: Santa Clara, California
Overall score: 94.0
Career outcomes score: 98
Cost and financial aid score: 87
Return on investment score: 97
14 (tie). University of Missouri
Location: Columbia, Missouri
Overall score: 94.0
Career outcomes score: 91
Cost and financial aid score: 98
Return on investment score: 93
14 (tie). University of Wyoming
Location: Laramie, Wyoming
Overall score: 94.0
Career outcomes score: 90
Cost and financial aid score: 100
Return on investment score: 92
14 (tie). Washington State University
Location: Pullman, Washington
Overall score: 94.0
Career outcomes score: 93
Cost and financial aid score: 97
Return on investment score: 92
13. Loyola University Maryland
Location: Baltimore, Maryland
Overall score: 94.3
Career outcomes score: 98
Cost and financial aid score: 87
Return on investment score: 98
10 (tie). Wellesley College
Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts
Overall score: 95.0
Career outcomes score: 100
Cost and financial aid score: 86
Return on investment score: 99
10 (tie). University of Iowa
Location: Iowa City, Iowa
Overall score: 95.0
Career outcomes score: 93
Cost and financial aid score: 97
Return on investment score: 95
10 (tie). West Virginia University
Location: Morgantown, West Virginia
Overall score: 95.0
Career outcomes score: 91
Cost and financial aid score: 100
Return on investment score: 94
9. Babson College
Location: Wellesley, Massachusetts
Overall score: 95.3
Career outcomes score: 100
Cost and financial aid score: 86
Return on investment score: 100
7 (tie). Fordham University
Location: New York, New York
Overall score: 95.7
Career outcomes score: 99
Cost and financial aid score: 89
Return on investment score: 99
7 (tie). University of Texas – Austin
Location: Austin, Texas
Overall score: 95.7
Career outcomes score: 95
Cost and financial aid score: 92
Return on investment score: 100
6. Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Location: Worcester, Massachusetts
Overall score: 96.0
Career outcomes score: 96
Cost and financial aid score: 94
Return on investment score: 98
5. George Mason University
Location: Fairfax, Virginia
Overall score: 96.3
Career outcomes score: 99
Cost and financial aid score: 91
Return on investment score: 99
4. City College of New York
Location: New York, New York
Overall score: 97.0
Career outcomes score: 97
Cost and financial aid score: 98
Return on investment score: 96
3. Binghamton University
Location: Binghamton, New York
Overall score: 97.3
Career outcomes score: 99
Cost and financial aid score: 95
Return on investment score: 98
2. University of Houston
Location: Houston, Texas
Overall score: 98.0
Career outcomes score: 95
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 100
1. San Jose State
Location: San Jose, California
Overall score: 99.3
Career outcomes score: 99
Cost and financial aid score: 99
Return on investment score: 100
