These are 2025’s ‘best value’ colleges ranked

The Princeton Review this week released its ranking of the “Best Value Colleges for 2025,” featuring private and public universities.

Schools were ranked across seven categories, with a top public and private school listed for each. These categories include:

• Best value colleges overall
• Best value colleges for financial aid
• Best value colleges for career placement
• Best value colleges for internships
• Best value colleges for alumni networks
• Best value colleges for making an impact
• Best value colleges for students with no demonstrated need

According to Rob Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review, this year’s list represents schools that “demonstrate extraordinary commitments to affordability via generous financial aid and/or comparatively low sticker prices,” he said in a statement.

Among the top 50 best value public colleges, the average grant to students with need is $15,639, compared to an average of $60,549 among the best value private colleges. Furthermore, the median starting salary of the list’s public school graduates is $74,360, compared to $86,528 among private school graduates.

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No. 1 Best Value Colleges for 2025

According to The Princeton Review’s “Best Value Colleges for 2025” ranking, the top schools in each of the seven categories are:

Best Value Colleges Overall

#1 Public: Georgia Institute of Technology
#1 Private: Princeton University (NJ)

Best Value Colleges for Financial Aid

#1 Public: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
#1 Private: Williams College (MA)

Best Value Colleges for Career Placement

#1 Public: Georgia Institute of Technology
#1 Private: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Best Value Colleges for Internships

#1 Public: University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
#1 Private: Northeastern University (MA)

Best Value Colleges for Alumni Networks

#1 Public: University of Michigan—Ann Arbor
#1 Private: St. Lawrence University (NY)

Best Value Colleges for Making an Impact

#1 Public: University of Vermont
#1 Private: Pitzer College (CA)

Best Value Colleges for Students with No Demonstrated Need

#1 Public: Georgia Institute of Technology
#1 Private: Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Click here to read the full report and research methodology.