For prospective college students looking for schools that align with their Christian faith and demonstrate academic excellence, here are the best Christian colleges and universities in Pennsylvania.
Prospective students hoping to earn an associate, bachelor’s, master’s, or doctoral degree have over 100 higher learning institutions to choose from. The largest public university is Pennsylvania State University, or Penn State, with a tuition of $18,000, and a student population of over 95,000 across its campuses. As a private institution, the University of Pennsylvania, or simply Penn, is known for its medical, nursing, social work, and business fields. Tuition is $56,000, and the school boasts a 95% graduation rate.
Find college admissions consultants in your state.
Students can also attend one of the more than 60 religiously affiliated schools, such as Villanova University or Lafayette College, each with a tuition of about $53,000. Some of the most affordable colleges in the state include the Curtis Institute of Music and the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia, with tuitions set at $3,000 and $9,000, respectively. Though the average tuition for college in Pennsylvania comes in above the national average, those who practice medicine in underserved areas may qualify for up to $100,000 in loan forgiveness through the Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program.
As the nation’s second state, Pennsylvania’s history runs deep. It’s here where Betsy Ross made the first American flag and where the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Keystone State is also home to some culinary delights, including whoopie pies, soft pretzels, and the famous Philly cheesesteak. Students looking to earn their degree in Pennsylvania will undoubtedly enjoy what the state has to offer.
Check out the state’s top programs and learn more about earning your degree in Pennsylvania.
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.
There are 45 Christian colleges and universities in Pennsylvania, 40 of which meet our criteria. The 25 best Christian schools below consist entirely of colleges and universities that offer four-year undergraduate degrees and the following four conditions:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
71%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1077/22
Westminster College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
59%
Graduation
63%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1140/23
Saint Francis University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$33K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
72%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1185/24
Elizabethtown College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$57K
Acceptance
31%
Graduation
92%
Student body
10K
Median SAT/ACT
1395/32
Villanova University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
36%
Graduation
90%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1345/30
Lafayette College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$51K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
73%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1265/27
Allegheny College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$51K
Acceptance
73%
Graduation
75%
Student body
3K
Susquehanna University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$47K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
82%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/26
University of Scranton’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$42K
Acceptance
77%
Graduation
79%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1215/25
Duquesne University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$32K
Acceptance
76%
Graduation
65%
Student body
4K
La Salle University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$19K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
83%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1257/26
Grove City College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$45K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
65%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/24
Arcadia University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$35K
Acceptance
64%
Graduation
58%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/23
Eastern University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$48K
Acceptance
80%
Graduation
81%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1210/26
Saint Joseph's University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$55K
Acceptance
62%
Graduation
81%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1245/28
Muhlenberg College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
83%
Graduation
74%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/24
Misericordia University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$43K
Acceptance
65%
Graduation
62%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1130/21
Lycoming College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$27K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
60%
Student body
2K
Albright College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$31K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
58%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1066/21
Carlow University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
66%
Student body
2K
Seton Hill University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$36K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
68%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/22
Gannon University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$38K
Acceptance
72%
Graduation
73%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1135/23
Saint Vincent College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$46K
Acceptance
78%
Graduation
75%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1160/24
Lebanon Valley College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
59%
Student body
3K
King's College ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$40K
Acceptance
82%
Graduation
65%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1145/25
DeSales University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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