Here are the most affordable colleges and universities in Pennsylvania. Our list will help you find the right kind of school for you, at a price you can afford.
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.
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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.
We’ve identified 37 affordable colleges and universities in Pennsylvania with stated tuitions and fees below the national average of $16,000/year.
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.
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
86%
Graduation
75%
Student body
16K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/23
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West Chester University’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Graduation
27%
Student body
<1K
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Cheyney University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
43%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/20
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Edinboro University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
91%
Graduation
50%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/19
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East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$10K
Acceptance
74%
Graduation
69%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1085/21
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Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
52%
Student body
7K
Median SAT/ACT
1055/21
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Kutztown University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
50%
Student body
3K
Median SAT/ACT
1025/19
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Lock Haven University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
89%
Graduation
58%
Student body
8K
Median SAT/ACT
1050/20
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Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
45%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
940/17
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Lincoln University ’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
51%
Student body
6K
Median SAT/ACT
1005/20
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California University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
53%
Student body
4K
Median SAT/ACT
1035/20
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Clarion University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$12K
Acceptance
85%
Graduation
56%
Student body
7K
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Millersville University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$11K
Acceptance
96%
Graduation
51%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1020/19
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Mansfield University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
94%
Graduation
51%
Student body
5K
Median SAT/ACT
1040/19
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Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$13K
Acceptance
93%
Graduation
54%
Student body
9K
Median SAT/ACT
1015/19
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Indiana University of Pennsylvania’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
87%
Graduation
55%
Student body
2K
Median SAT/ACT
1120/21
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University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
90%
Graduation
36%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1100/22
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University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
Tuition + fees
$14K
Acceptance
79%
Graduation
43%
Student body
1K
Median SAT/ACT
1065/21
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University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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Tuition + fees
$15K
Graduation
16%
Student body
<1K
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Peirce College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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Tuition + fees
$16K
Graduation
31%
Student body
2K
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Lackawanna College’s faculty and alumni have been influential in:
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