Best Pennsylvania Colleges
Pennsylvania has 78 ranked four-year colleges, part of our national best colleges ranking. Rankings weigh admission scores, graduation rates, and selectivity using statistical data, not editorial picks.
Leading our 2027 rankings is University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, topping our list in Pennsylvania. The top rated public university is University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Campus. Also highly ranked: Swarthmore College, Haverford College and Carnegie Mellon University.
Compare tuition, acceptance rates, and enrollment across the colleges below. See how rankings are calculated on our methodology page. Sort by tuition, acceptance rate, or enrollment to find the school that fits you.
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
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
Carnegie Mellon University
- Private 4 Year
- Pittsburgh, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Carnegie Mellon is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate computer science, engineering, and drama. The urban campus sits in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Avg GPA 3.89
- Acceptance Rate 12%
- Net Price $35,552
Lehigh University
- Private 4 Year
- Bethlehem, PA
-
3.8 | 6 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Lehigh is a private university known for undergraduate engineering and business. The hillside campus sits on South Mountain overlooking Bethlehem.
- SAT Range 1370-1500
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.81
- Acceptance Rate 26%
- Net Price $34,154
Franklin and Marshall College
- Private 4 Year
- Lancaster, PA
-
3.8 | 6 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Franklin and Marshall is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate government and the natural sciences. Most students live on a residential campus in the city of Lancaster.
- SAT Range 1310-1463
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 28%
- Net Price $43,987
Villanova University
- Private 4 Year
- Villanova, PA
-
5.0 | 4 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Villanova is a highly selective private Catholic university known for undergraduate business, nursing, and engineering. The suburban campus sits on Philadelphia's Main Line.
- SAT Range 1395-1510
- Avg GPA 3.87
- Acceptance Rate 27%
- Net Price $37,201
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.
- SAT Range 1350-1500
- Avg GPA 3.53
- Acceptance Rate 31%
- Net Price $38,442
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.
- SAT Range 1310-1470
- Avg GPA 3.62
- Acceptance Rate 29%
- Net Price $39,003
Dickinson College
- Private 4 Year
- Carlisle, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Dickinson is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate international studies, foreign languages, and environmental science. The historic campus sits in the small college town of Carlisle in central Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1310-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 42%
- Net Price $38,483
Gettysburg College
- Private 4 Year
- Gettysburg, PA
-
5.0 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Gettysburg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate history and political science. The campus borders Gettysburg National Military Park and the Civil War battlefield.
- SAT Range 1270-1460
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 39%
- Net Price $32,769
Bryn Mawr College
- Private 4 Year
- Bryn Mawr, PA
-
| 0 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Bryn Mawr is a highly selective private women's liberal arts college known for undergraduate sciences, archaeology, and classics. The suburban Main Line campus outside Philadelphia shares courses and resources with nearby Haverford and Swarthmore.
- SAT Range 1280-1510
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.85
- Acceptance Rate 29%
- Net Price $33,221
Muhlenberg College
- Private 4 Year
- Allentown, PA
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Muhlenberg is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate theater, biology, and media and communication. The residential campus sits in Allentown in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley.
- SAT Range 1250-1410
- Avg GPA 3.44
- Acceptance Rate 72%
- Net Price $34,739
Drexel University
- Private 4 Year
- Philadelphia, PA
-
3.0 | 1 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Drexel is a private university known for undergraduate engineering, design, and business. The urban campus is in Philadelphia's University City neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1240-1440
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 79%
- Net Price $42,801
University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Campus
- Public 4 Year
- Pittsburgh, PA
-
3.8 | 5 reviews
Pitt is a large public university known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and philosophy. The urban campus in Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood centers on the Cathedral of Learning.
- SAT Range 1280-1460
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.79
- Acceptance Rate 58%
- Net Price $25,223
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.
- SAT Range 1170-1350
- Avg GPA 3.65
- Acceptance Rate 89%
- Net Price $31,205
Penn State Main Campus
- Public 4 Year
- University Park, PA
-
4.2 | 12 reviews
Penn State is a large public university known for undergraduate engineering, business, and communications. The University Park campus anchors the college town of State College in central Pennsylvania.
- SAT Range 1240-1420
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 61%
- Net Price $27,889
Duquesne University
- Private 4 Year
- Pittsburgh, PA
-
3.0 | 2 reviews
- Aug 15 application deadline
Duquesne is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate pharmacy, nursing, and business. The urban campus sits on a bluff overlooking downtown Pittsburgh.
- SAT Range 1180-1340
- Avg GPA 3.8
- Acceptance Rate 84%
- Net Price $37,917