Best Value Eastern Colleges
There are 284 colleges in the East ranked by value using the same methodology as our national list. Rankings balance academic quality with the net price students typically pay.
Princeton University leads East value rankings for 2027 with a 10 out of 10 academic rating and an average net price of $15,313. The top value public university is University of Vermont. Also high value: Williams College, Harvard University and Amherst College.
Compare net price, aid, and academic ratings across the colleges below. See how value scores are calculated on our methodology page. Explore the regional list below or browse individual states.
Princeton University
- Private 4 Year
- Princeton, NJ
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Princeton is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate economics, public policy, and engineering. Most undergraduates complete a required senior thesis and live in residential colleges.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Avg GPA 3.93
- Acceptance Rate 5%
- Net Price $15,313
Williams College
- Private 4 Year
- Williamstown, MA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 10 application deadline
Williams is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics and Oxford-style tutorials. Most students live on the rural campus in the Berkshires town of Williamstown.
- SAT Range 1490-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
- Acceptance Rate 8%
- Net Price $15,894
Harvard University
- Private 4 Year
- Cambridge, MA
-
4.8 | 4 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Harvard is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate economics, government, and the sciences. Most upperclass students live in residential houses that organize dining and social life.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Avg GPA 4.0
- Acceptance Rate 4%
- Net Price $17,525
Amherst College
- Private 4 Year
- Amherst, MA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 2 application deadline
Amherst is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, English, and political science. Students follow an open curriculum, and the campus sits in a classic New England college town.
- SAT Range 1490-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Acceptance Rate 9%
- Net Price $19,049
Yale University
- Private 4 Year
- New Haven, CT
-
4.3 | 3 reviews
- Jan 2 application deadline
Yale is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate programs in history, political science, and drama. Most undergraduates live in residential colleges that organize dining and social life.
- SAT Range 1470-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.95
- Acceptance Rate 4%
- Net Price $22,408
Colby College
- Private 4 Year
- Waterville, ME
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Colby is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies, economics, and government. The residential campus sits on Mayflower Hill above Waterville.
- SAT Range 1460-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 7%
- Net Price $16,219
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
- Private 4 Year
- Cambridge, MA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
MIT is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences. The compact urban campus sits along the Charles River in Cambridge.
- SAT Range 1520-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.96
- Acceptance Rate 5%
- Net Price $20,996
Dartmouth College
- Private 4 Year
- Hanover, NH
-
5.0 | 4 reviews
- Jan 3 application deadline
Dartmouth is an Ivy League college known for undergraduate government, economics, and engineering. Most students live on the residential campus in the small college town of Hanover.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 5%
- Net Price $20,322
Wellesley College
- Private 4 Year
- Wellesley, MA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 8 application deadline
Wellesley is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate economics, political science, and the sciences. Most students live on the residential campus in a Boston suburb about twelve miles west of the city.
- SAT Range 1460-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.86
- Acceptance Rate 14%
- Net Price $22,174
Bowdoin College
- Private 4 Year
- Brunswick, ME
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 5 application deadline
Bowdoin is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate government, environmental studies, and the sciences. The historic campus sits in the coastal college town of Brunswick.
- SAT Range 1470-1550
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 7%
- Net Price $22,228
Columbia University in the City of New York
- Private 4 Year
- New York, NY
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Columbia is an Ivy League university known for its undergraduate Core Curriculum, political science, and economics. The urban campus sits in Morningside Heights in Manhattan.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.91
- Acceptance Rate 4%
- Net Price $22,520
Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Middletown, CT
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Wesleyan is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate film studies, creative writing, and music. Students live on a residential Middletown campus and follow an open curriculum with no required core courses.
- SAT Range 1415-1540
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 16%
- Net Price $23,025
University of Pennsylvania
- Private 4 Year
- Philadelphia, PA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- Jan 5 application deadline
Penn is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and engineering. The urban campus sits in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1510-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.95
- Acceptance Rate 5%
- Net Price $23,570
Swarthmore College
- Private 4 Year
- Swarthmore, PA
-
5.0 | 3 reviews
- Jan 4 application deadline
Swarthmore is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The suburban campus is a designated arboretum just outside Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1490-1560
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 7%
- Net Price $22,469
Brown University
- Private 4 Year
- Providence, RI
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 5 application deadline
Brown is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate economics, computer science, and the biological sciences. Most students design their own path under the Open Curriculum, which has no required core.
- SAT Range 1510-1580
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.94
- Acceptance Rate 5%
- Net Price $26,256
Cornell University
- Private 4 Year
- Ithaca, NY
-
4.0 | 4 reviews
- Jan 2 application deadline
Cornell is an Ivy League university known for undergraduate engineering, hotel administration, and agriculture and life sciences. The hillside campus overlooks Cayuga Lake in the college town of Ithaca.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 9%
- Net Price $26,361
Bates College
- Private 4 Year
- Lewiston, ME
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Bates is a highly selective private liberal arts college known for undergraduate political science, economics, and biology. Most students live on the residential campus in the small city of Lewiston.
- SAT Range 1420-1530
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 13%
- Net Price $24,723
Haverford College
- Private 4 Year
- Haverford, PA
-
5.0 | 7 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Haverford is a highly selective liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, economics, and political science. Students live under a student-run honor code on a suburban campus near Philadelphia.
- SAT Range 1460-1550
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.9
- Acceptance Rate 12%
- Net Price $26,535