Private colleges, unlike large public institutions, can be a great option for students wanting a more intimate campus experience, more personal attention from excellent professors, and more immediate access to support services. Here is our list of the best private colleges in Indiana.
Among Indiana’s schools are some well-known colleges and universities, including the University of Notre Dame, Purdue University, and Butler University. While tuition and student population vary greatly among these schools, each boasts a high graduation rate. The state’s largest public university, Indiana University Bloomington, also notes a high graduation rate for its roughly 40,000 students and offers tuition just above the national average at $11,000.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Additionally, students hoping to attend a school with a religious affiliation have nearly 30 options to choose from. Students at these schools can study areas like engineering, business, philosophy, religious studies, and law. Indiana offers loan forgiveness programs for health care workers who work in areas with labor shortages as well as for lawyers providing public legal aid. Additionally, graduates of Indiana University’s Maurer School of Law pursuing public interest law can apply for a special grant program that will help cover the cost of preparing and sitting for the bar exam.
With town names like Popcorn and Santa Claus, it is clear Indiana is no stranger to a good time. Along with these unique towns, Indiana also hosts the Indianapolis 500, a long-distance auto race; boasts a thriving art scene; and has been home to iconic celebrities, including Larry Bird, James Dean, and David Letterman. Students wanting to experience all Indiana has to offer while studying have the option of attending one of Indiana’s more than 50 higher education institutes.
Explore Indiana’s more than 50 colleges and universities to find a program and future career path that’s right for you.
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Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models — one is a private company with private funding; the other is owned by the state and receives both state and federal funding to operate. If you’re weighing the pros and cons of private vs. public college, consider that many public colleges provide diverse course offerings, influential professors, and an excellent return on your investment.
Public colleges are schools that receive most of their funding from tax revenues. As a result, the cost of a four-year degree at a public university is often lower than the equivalent cost at a private college — especially for students attending a public school in their home state. According to the National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a four-year public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually.
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This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 28 private universities in Indiana; 22 of which meet our criteria. The list below of the 20 best private universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great. This is why, at the undergraduate level, we rank the best colleges and universities based on what we call “Concentrated Influence”. Concentrated Influence takes the combined influence score of a college or university’s top academic influencers (including faculty and alums) and divides it by the school’s total number of undergraduates.
Using concentrated influence gives small and mid-sized schools an opportunity to shine by taking away the size advantage of larger universities. A small school with proportionately more influential faculty than a large school, whose influence in absolute terms may be bigger, will nonetheless score higher in a concentrated influence ranking. Our approach highlights undergraduate schools that truly rank for excellence, regardless of size.
If you are serious about finding the best colleges and universities for a bachelor’s degree, you should be asking where the most influential professors are teaching and whether their graduates are themselves advancing the school’s reputation for academic excellence.
Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is free from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.
Find out more about our ranking methodology here.
Less Tuition + fees
$58K
Acceptance
19%
Graduation
97%
Student body
13K
Median SAT/ACT
1475/33
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University of Notre Dame’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$53K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
87%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1245/26
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DePauw University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
67%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1235/26
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Earlham College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
69%
Graduation
72%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
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Hanover College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
92%
Graduation
63%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1108/25
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Goshen College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
63%
Graduation
75%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1220/26
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Wabash College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
65%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1180/25
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Valparaiso University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$39K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
67%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1189/26
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University of Evansville’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
82%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1240/27
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Butler University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$28K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
72%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1125/23
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Indiana Wesleyan University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
81%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1155/25
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Saint Mary's College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$37K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
78%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1195/25
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Taylor University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
70%
Graduation
56%
Student body
1K
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Manchester University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
84%
Graduation
61%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/22
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University of Indianapolis’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
63%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/21
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Franklin College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$23K
Acceptance
75%
Graduation
68%
Student body
2K
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Grace College & Seminary’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
65%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1057/21
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Huntington University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
61%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1150/24
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Trine University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
60%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1075/21
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Marian University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
99%
Graduation
51%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1059/21
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University of Saint Francis ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
What are Custom College Rankings?
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