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 Oregon.
Oregon is home to over 40 higher education institutions, including Oregon State University, the largest in the state. More than 30,000 students are enrolled at this public research institution in Corvallis, and with a tuition of $11,000, the school comes in slightly above the national average. Students attending the next largest, the University of Oregon, will join in on a friendly intrastate rivalry against Oregon State. Though the tuition is higher at $12,000, the school boasts a student–faculty ratio of 16:1.
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Of the 21 private institutions, 10 are religiously based. Concordia University has the largest student population at just under 5,000 and a tuition of $31,000. Students who attend this private Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod university can study fields such as chemistry, psychology, and history. Oregon’s community colleges range in tuition from $4,000 to $6,000. The least expensive four-year institution in the state, Portland State University (PSU), comes in at $8,000. Students attending PSU can study a range of fields, including environmental engineering, film, and international business, right in the heart of the city.
Gaze at the Pacific Ocean from the Oregon Coast Highway, which travels along the entire coastal edge of the state. Taste Pacific Northwest wines from the Willamette Valley, or take a bike ride through the streets of Portland. Students looking to earn their associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree in The Beaver State can enjoy a great higher education experience set against a stunning natural backdrop.
Discover what Oregon has to offer, and find a college that fits your career interests as well as your budget.
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.
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.
This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees. We’ve identified 11 private universities in Oregon, all of which satisfy our criteria. The list below of the best private universities in the state satisfies the following four conditions:
Tuition + fees
$61K
Acceptance
42%
Graduation
77%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1422/32
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Reed College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
74%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1310/29
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Lewis & Clark College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$54K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
74%
Student body
2K
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Willamette University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
64%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/23
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Pacific University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
75%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
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Linfield University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$50K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
84%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1250/26
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University of Portland’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
66%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1150/23
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George Fox University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$20K
Acceptance
100%
Graduation
38%
Student body
<1K
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Warner Pacific University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$34K
Acceptance
48%
Graduation
50%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1125/22
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Corban University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
68%
Graduation
51%
Student body
<1K
Median SAT/ACT
1081/19
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Bushnell University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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