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.

284 Results
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East Public Private 4 Year

Niagara University

  • Private 4 Year
  • Niagara University, NY
  • | 0 reviews
  • Aug 30 application deadline

Niagara is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate hospitality and tourism management, education, and nursing. The suburban campus sits near Niagara Falls in western New York.

#55 Best Value in the East 6/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1060-1235
  • Avg GPA 3.53
  • Acceptance Rate 87%
  • Net Price $16,613
Details

University of Rochester

  • Private 4 Year
  • Rochester, NY
  • 5.0 | 1 reviews
  • Jan 5 application deadline

Rochester is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate optics, music through the Eastman School, and engineering. Undergraduates follow a flexible curriculum built around interdisciplinary clusters rather than fixed general-education requirements.

#56 Best Value in the East 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1410-1540
  • Avg GPA 3.75
  • Acceptance Rate 40%
  • Net Price $40,462
Details

Lafayette College

  • Private 4 Year
  • Easton, PA
  • | 0 reviews
  • Jan 15 application deadline

Lafayette is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate engineering alongside the liberal arts. The residential hillside campus in Easton overlooks the Delaware and Lehigh rivers.

#57 Best Value in the East 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1350-1500
  • Avg GPA 3.53
  • Acceptance Rate 31%
  • Net Price $38,442
Details

University of Connecticut

  • Public 4 Year
  • Storrs, CT
  • 4.0 | 2 reviews
  • Jan 15 application deadline

UConn is a large public university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and engineering. Most students live on the residential campus in the college town of Storrs.

#58 Best Value in the East 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1210-1440
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.74
  • Acceptance Rate 52%
  • Net Price $25,310
Details

Massachusetts Maritime Academy

  • Public 4 Year
  • Buzzards Bay, MA
  • | 0 reviews
  • Apr 15 application deadline

Mass Maritime is a public maritime academy known for undergraduate marine transportation, marine engineering, and maritime business. Most students join a regiment of cadets on a campus along the Cape Cod Canal in Buzzards Bay.

#59 Best Value in the East 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1030-1185
  • Avg GPA 3.25
  • Acceptance Rate 95%
  • Net Price $13,546
Details

College of Our Lady of the Elms

  • Private 4 Year
  • Chicopee, MA
  • 3.5 | 4 reviews

Elms College is a private Catholic college known for undergraduate nursing and education. The small campus is in Chicopee in western Massachusetts.

#60 Best Value in the East 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1150-1320
  • Avg GPA 3.42
  • Acceptance Rate 85%
  • Net Price $19,870
Details

New Jersey Institute of Technology

  • Public 4 Year
  • Newark, NJ
  • 5.0 | 1 reviews
  • Mar 1 application deadline

NJIT is a public technological university known for undergraduate engineering, computer science, and architecture. The urban campus is located in Newark.

#61 Best Value in the East 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1210-1460
  • Avg GPA 3.72
  • Acceptance Rate 65%
  • Net Price $17,313
Details

Rutgers University New Brunswick

  • Public 4 Year
  • New Brunswick, NJ
  • 4.8 | 4 reviews

Rutgers is a large public university known for undergraduate pharmacy, engineering, and life sciences. Students take classes across multiple campuses in New Brunswick and Piscataway linked by campus buses.

#62 Best Value in the East 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1310-1500
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.3
  • Acceptance Rate 58%
  • Net Price $20,522
Details

Rutgers University Newark

  • Public 4 Year
  • Newark, NJ
  • 4.0 | 1 reviews

Rutgers-Newark is a public university known for undergraduate business and criminal justice. The urban campus is located in downtown Newark.

#63 Best Value in the East 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1030-1270
  • Predicted Avg GPA 3.23
  • Acceptance Rate 71%
  • Net Price $18,276
Details

Clarkson University

  • Private 4 Year
  • Potsdam, NY
  • 5.0 | 3 reviews
  • Jan 15 application deadline

Clarkson is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, business, and the sciences. The residential campus is in the small college town of Potsdam in northern New York.

#64 Best Value in the East 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1200-1390
  • Avg GPA 3.8
  • Acceptance Rate 77%
  • Net Price $32,406
Details

CUNY City College

  • Public 4 Year
  • New York, NY
  • 5.0 | 1 reviews
  • Feb 1 application deadline

CCNY is a public college in the CUNY system known for undergraduate engineering, architecture, and the sciences. The urban campus is located in Harlem in northern Manhattan.

#65 Best Value in the East 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1070-1430
  • Avg GPA 3.2
  • Acceptance Rate 60%
  • Net Price $4,664
Details
Roberts Wesleyan University Campus
 

Roberts Wesleyan University

  • Private 4 Year
  • Rochester, NY
  • | 0 reviews
  • Aug 25 application deadline

Roberts Wesleyan is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing and teacher education. The suburban campus sits outside Rochester in western New York.

#66 Best Value in the East 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 990-1305
  • Avg GPA 3.6
  • Acceptance Rate 71%
  • Net Price $23,275
Details

Yeshiva University

  • Private 4 Year
  • New York, NY
  • | 0 reviews
  • Feb 1 application deadline

Yeshiva is a private Jewish university known for combining Jewish studies with undergraduate business, sciences, and liberal arts. Men and women study on separate urban campuses in Manhattan.

#67 Best Value in the East 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1340-1510
  • Avg GPA 3.41
  • Acceptance Rate 56%
  • Net Price $39,681
Details

Bucknell University

  • Private 4 Year
  • Lewisburg, PA
  • 3.7 | 3 reviews
  • Jan 15 application deadline

Bucknell is a selective private university known for undergraduate engineering, management, and the liberal arts. Most undergrads live on a residential campus in the small college town of Lewisburg.

#68 Best Value in the East 9/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1310-1470
  • Avg GPA 3.62
  • Acceptance Rate 29%
  • Net Price $39,003
Details

University of Pittsburgh Bradford

  • Public 4 Year
  • Bradford, PA
  • | 0 reviews

Pitt-Bradford is a public regional campus of the University of Pittsburgh known for undergraduate nursing, biology, and business. The rural campus lies near the Allegheny National Forest in northwestern Pennsylvania.

#69 Best Value in the East 6/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1010-1200
  • Avg GPA 3.28
  • Acceptance Rate 89%
  • Net Price $15,830
Details

Saint Joseph's University Philadelphia

  • Private 4 Year
  • Philadelphia, PA
  • 5.0 | 1 reviews
  • Feb 1 application deadline

Saint Joseph's is a private Jesuit university known for undergraduate business and food marketing. The residential campus sits in western Philadelphia's Overbrook neighborhood.

#70 Best Value in the East 8/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1170-1350
  • Avg GPA 3.65
  • Acceptance Rate 89%
  • Net Price $31,205
Details

CUNY Brooklyn College

  • Public 4 Year
  • Brooklyn, NY
  • 1.0 | 1 reviews
  • Feb 1 application deadline

Brooklyn College is a public CUNY college known for undergraduate education, the liberal arts, and performing arts. The Georgian-style campus sits on a tree-lined quadrangle in Brooklyn's Midwood neighborhood.

#71 Best Value in the East 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 950-1340
  • Avg GPA 3.42
  • Acceptance Rate 58%
  • Net Price $4,512
Details

Le Moyne College

  • Private 4 Year
  • Syracuse, NY
  • | 0 reviews
  • Feb 1 application deadline

Le Moyne is a private Jesuit college known for undergraduate nursing, business, and biology. The suburban campus sits just outside downtown Syracuse.

#72 Best Value in the East 7/10 Overall Rating
  • SAT Range 1160-1330
  • Avg GPA 3.55
  • Acceptance Rate 83%
  • Net Price $23,702
Details