Best Private Colleges in Pennsylvania 2023

Best Private Colleges in Pennsylvania 2023

By James Barham

Published: Mar 23, 2021
Updated: May 22, 2023

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 Pennsylvania.

10 Best Private Colleges in Pennsylvania

University of Pennsylvania

80%

Carnegie Mellon University

73%

Swarthmore College

61%

Bryn Mawr College

56%

Lehigh University

54%

Drexel University

53%

Haverford College

51%

Villanova University

49%

Lafayette College

46%

Washington & Jefferson College

46%

Chestnut Hill College

98%

Robert Morris University

94%

Widener University

85%

Washington & Jefferson College

84%

Duquesne University

84%

Gannon University

84%

Drexel University

83%

Saint Joseph's University

83%

Ursinus College

83%

Arcadia University

82%

Robert Morris University

14 to 1

Gannon University

13 to 1

Grove City College

13 to 1

Duquesne University

13 to 1

Thomas Jefferson University

13 to 1

La Salle University

13 to 1

Widener University

13 to 1

University of Scranton

12 to 1

Elizabethtown College

12 to 1

Chestnut Hill College

12 to 1

Franklin & Marshall College

$63,406

University of Pennsylvania

$61,710

Haverford College

$61,210

Gettysburg College

$59,960

Bucknell University

$59,802

Villanova University

$59,020

Carnegie Mellon University

$58,924

Dickinson College

$58,733

Lehigh University

$57,470

Drexel University

$57,136

Bryn Mawr College

$48,328

Carnegie Mellon University

$46,441

University of Pennsylvania

$38,732

Drexel University

$36,234

Elizabethtown College

$34,000

Arcadia University

$27,311

Lehigh University

$27,000

Bucknell University

$26,112

Widener University

$25,100

Duquesne University

$24,534

Gannon University

25%

Arcadia University

26%

Robert Morris University

27%

Eastern University

28%

Muhlenberg College

32%

Elizabethtown College

32%

University of Scranton

33%

Grove City College

33%

Chestnut Hill College

33%

Widener University

34%

University of Pennsylvania

6%

Swarthmore College

8%

Carnegie Mellon University

14%

Haverford College

18%

Villanova University

25%

Bucknell University

35%

Franklin & Marshall College

38%

Bryn Mawr College

39%

Lafayette College

41%

Lehigh University

46%

Carnegie Mellon University

5 to 1

University of Pennsylvania

6 to 1

Swarthmore College

7 to 1

Dickinson College

8 to 1

Bryn Mawr College

8 to 1

Haverford College

8 to 1

Lehigh University

9 to 1

Bucknell University

9 to 1

Franklin & Marshall College

9 to 1

Muhlenberg College

9 to 1

Grove City College

$19,310

Robert Morris University

$32,770

La Salle University

$33,150

Gannon University

$34,526

Elizabethtown College

$34,600

Eastern University

$35,590

Chestnut Hill College

$38,635

Thomas Jefferson University

$43,116

Duquesne University

$43,526

Arcadia University

$46,220

La Salle University

$885

Dickinson College

$3,750

Washington & Jefferson College

$8,400

Grove City College

$8,550

University of Scranton

$11,580

Eastern University

$13,716

Chestnut Hill College

$17,400

Saint Joseph's University

$18,144

Muhlenberg College

$19,200

Gannon University

$19,980

Table of Contents

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.

What are Pennsylvania’s Colleges & Universities?

Pennsylvania’s Best Overall

What is the difference between public and private colleges?

Public and private colleges and universities operate under different business models. Public colleges and universities are owned by the state and receive both state and federal funding to operate. Private colleges and universities are private companies with private funding. If you’re looking at the pros and cons of private vs. public colleges, 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 bachelor’s 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. Attending a college in-state is usually the cheapest option. Private universities and colleges can be very competitive with their funding opportunities, so do not simply believe that private colleges are always going to be more expensive. According to National Center for Educational Statistics, the average annual cost (tuition, fees, room and board for full-time students) at a public university was slightly over $20,000. In contrast, private universities cost, on average, nearly $43,000 annually. But in the end, the cost of college comes down to each student’s academic and financial situation.

Pennsylvania's Best Private Colleges and Universities Badge — Download Badge

How do we determine Pennsylvania's best private colleges and universities?

The people affiliated with a school are ultimately what make it great! 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 in their fields of study.

Most ranking sites rely on an opaque combination of reputation surveys and arbitrary performance metrics. Concentrated Influence provides a ranking that is freer from bias, insulated from manipulation, and reflective of real-world educational outcomes.

To rank the influence of schools, we first determine the influence of scholars and professionals based on the number of citations and publications they have had over the past 10 years. In addition to publications and citations, we consider the web links to and from these sources, and the page views of those sources. We then match the influential people to their alma maters and institutions of employment, so that their influence is attributed to those schools. Our machine-learning Influence Ranking algorithm produces a numerical score of academic achievements, merits, and citations across Wikipedia, wikidata, Crossref, Semantic Scholar and an ever-growing body of data. If you are interested in exploring how and why we rank by influence, explore our methodology in more depth.

This list is composed entirely of private colleges and universities that offer bachelor’s degrees. We’ve identified 76 private universities in Pennsylvania. To be included in the list below of the 30 best private universities in Pennsylvania, schools must be fully accredited, private, non-profit institution, and must offer a broad range of bachelor’s degrees.

Best Private Colleges in Pennsylvania 2022

Pennsylvania’s Best Private Colleges in Your Area Interest

2021 Ranking Archive

Many of our 2022 undergraduate focused rankings look considerably different than 2021. That’s because we took a fundamentally different apporach. For 2021 we utilized our Concentrated Influence algorithm, designed to take away the size advantage larger schools have when we rank their faculty and alumni’s academic influence. Concentrated influence highlights smaller schools that are proportionally as successful as larger universities at cultivating influential alumni and faculty.

Check out our directory of private colleges throughout the U.S. for a look at the top private schools in every state.