Is Your College Worth The Money?
The College Investor grades four-year colleges on what families pay, what graduates earn, how many finish their degree, and how much student loan debt they have. Also see the admissions odds and financial details, and use our net price calculator to see how affordable it is for you.
Featured College Profiles
- Net Price
- $11,305
- Median Earnings
- $81,094
- Acceptance Rate
- 17%
- Net Price
- $5,969
- Median Earnings
- $78,456
- Acceptance Rate
- 20%
- Net Price
- $14,362
- Median Earnings
- $92,832
- Acceptance Rate
- 16%
- Net Price
- $19,148
- Median Earnings
- $121,957
- Acceptance Rate
- 4.2%
- Net Price
- $17,269
- Median Earnings
- $67,080
- Acceptance Rate
- 49%
- Net Price
- $33,675
- Median Earnings
- $71,762
- Acceptance Rate
- 55%
How We Grade Colleges
Every grade answers one question: Is this college worth the money? What you pay depends on your income, so each college gets an overall grade plus separate grades for low-income, middle-income and high-income families. We score each school from 0 to 100 using federal College Scorecard data, so the same formula applies to all of them. Our grade measures our opinion of the financial return for families. It doesn't grade teaching, campus life or a school's mission.
Payoff
Median earnings 10 years after starting college.
Price
What families are paying for college out of pocket.
Graduation
The share of students who finish within six years. A degree you don't finish can't pay off.
Student Debt
Median student loan debt compared with earnings, and the share of students who borrow.
Online Schools: Colleges where most undergraduates study entirely online get an “O” for mostly online instead of a letter grade, because federal graduation and earnings data don't describe their students fairly.
College Lists
Best Colleges For Low-Income Families
- APrinceton University$795 a year
- AStanford University$1,067 a year
- AHarvard University$2,306 a year
- AUniversity of Pennsylvania$234 a year
- AYale University$1,062 a year
Best Colleges For Middle-Income Families
- AMassachusetts Institute of Technology$6,152 a year
- APrinceton University$3,054 a year
- AStanford University$6,603 a year
- AHarvard University$7,060 a year
- AYale University$4,341 a year
Best Colleges For High-Income Families
- AUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill$26,949 a year
- AUniversity of Florida$23,197 a year
- AGeorgia Institute of Technology$29,041 a year
- ABrigham Young University$21,235 a year
- AUniversity of Maryland$29,816 a year
Colleges Most Likely To Give Merit Aid
- FFlagler College85% get merit aid
- CSalisbury University81% get merit aid
- FSarah Lawrence College78% get merit aid
- DKent State University68% get merit aid
- BVirginia Military Institute61% get merit aid
Colleges Where Students Graduate With The Least Debt
- AWilliams College$469 per student
- APrinceton University$492 per student
- CBerea College$562 per student
- AUniversity of Chicago$584 per student
- AStanford University$708 per student
Colleges With The Highest Graduate Earnings
- AMassachusetts Institute of Technology$152,553
- BBabson College$138,950
- APrinceton University$133,523
- BClaremont McKenna College$127,532
- CBentley University$126,427
Low-Cost Colleges That Pay Off For Middle-Income Families
- AWilliams College$3,001 a year
- APrinceton University$3,054 a year
- BCalifornia State University-Los Angeles$3,382 a year
- BCalifornia State University-Stanislaus$3,918 a year
- AYale University$4,341 a year
Largest Colleges With Poor Return On Investment
- DGeorgia State University26,623 undergrads
- DKent State University19,320 undergrads
- DUniversity of New Mexico17,244 undergrads
- FSavannah College of Art and Design15,243 undergrads
- DMetropolitan State University of Denver15,002 undergrads
Browse Every College Grade
| College | Type | Overall | Low-Income | Middle-Income | High-Income | Median Earnings | Graduation Rate |
|---|
Sources And Methodology
What The Grade Measures
The College Investor Rating answers one question: is this college worth the money? It measures our opinion of the financial return for families. It doesn't grade teaching quality, campus life or a school's mission. We grade 1,197 operating four-year colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates, using public federal data so the same formula applies to every school.
How The Score Is Calculated
Each school gets a score from 0 to 100 built from eight measures in four pillars: payoff (30%), price (25%), graduation (20%) and student debt (25%). Each measure earns 0 to 100 points on a straight line between the values in the table below. A value at or past the 100-point mark earns 100 points, and a value at or past the 0-point mark earns 0. For example, median earnings of $57,500 sit halfway between $35,000 and $80,000, so they earn 50 points.
The overall score is the weighted average of the eight measures' points. When a measure is missing for a school, the score uses the remaining measures, and a school needs data covering at least 70% of the weights to be graded. Scores round down, so the number shown always matches the letter.
| Pillar | Weight | Measure | 0 Points | 100 Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Payoff | 20% | Median earnings 10 years after starting college | $35,000 | $80,000 |
| Payoff | 10% | Share of students earning more than a typical high school graduate | 55% | 85% |
| Price | 5% | Average net price for low-income families (under $48,000) | $25,000 | $5,000 |
| Price | 10% | Average net price for middle-income families ($48,000 to $110,000) | $35,000 | $10,000 |
| Price | 10% | Sticker price (cost of attendance) for high-income families | $80,000 | $25,000 |
| Graduation | 20% | Six-year graduation rate | 35% | 85% |
| Student Debt | 15% | Median student loan debt divided by median earnings | 60% | 15% |
| Student Debt | 10% | Share of students taking out federal student loans | 65% | 15% |
Grade Bands
| Grade | Score | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| A | 85–100 | Worth It For Most Families |
| B | 70–84 | Worth It For Many Families |
| C | 55–69 | Depends On Your Cost And Major |
| D | 40–54 | Hard To Justify |
| F | Below 40 | General Concern |
| O | Not scored | Mostly Online |
Grades By Family Income
Every college also gets a low-income, middle-income and high-income grade. Each uses the same payoff, graduation and student debt points, but replaces the price pillar with that family's price alone at the full 25% weight. Low-income families earn under $48,000, middle-income families earn $48,000 to $110,000, and high-income families get no grant aid and pay the sticker price. Public colleges also get an out-of-state high-income grade, scored on the in-state cost of attendance plus the difference in tuition.
Grade Checks
A grade is capped at D when fewer than half of students out-earn a typical high school graduate, when fewer than 30% graduate, or when the Education Department has the school on heightened cash monitoring. Three more checks appear on each profile without changing the grade: a financial aid check from the Common Data Set (meeting less than 75% of financial need, or private student loan borrowing at a school that meets full financial need), a financial health watch for budget deficits or major cuts, and and an O for mostly online, given instead of a letter grade when more than half of undergraduates study entirely online. Federal graduation rates count only first-time, full-time students, and federal earnings and student loan figures blend online and campus students, so those numbers don't describe mostly online colleges fairly. Their profiles show how their prices compare instead.
What We Show But Don't Score
Each profile also shows the share of undergraduates paying full price, meaning no grant aid from any source, and the chance of merit aid for students without financial need: merit scholarship recipients divided by full-time undergraduates without financial need, from the Common Data Set.
Data Sources And Years
| Data | Covers | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Earnings And Share Out-Earning High School Graduates | Students who started in 2011-12 and 2012-13, measured 10 years later | College Scorecard |
| Net Price, Sticker Price And Share Borrowing | 2024-25 academic year | College Scorecard |
| Graduation Rate | Students who started in fall 2019 | College Scorecard |
| Median Student Loan Debt | Borrowers who left school in fiscal 2024 and 2025 | College Scorecard |
| Share Paying Full Price | 2022-23 academic year | IPEDS |
| Share Studying Entirely Online | Fall 2023 | IPEDS |
| Admissions, Financial Aid, Debt At Graduation, Merit Aid | Each school's latest Common Data Set, usually 2025-26 | Common Data Set |
Sources: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (data updated November 2, 2026), the Education Department's IPEDS survey, each school's Common Data Set and The College Investor's news coverage. Colleges can request a data review, and our editors note confirmed corrections on the school's profile.