2023 Best Bachelor's Degree Schools
There are lots of options to pick from today when trying to decide which program is right for you. Along with traditional schools that require in-person attendence, you can attend one of many reputable online schools. Some programs even offer a hybrid experience. Also, there are a number of trade schools and bootcamp with offerings that you might find attractive.
The Best Bachelor's Degree Schools ranking is one of many tools that Course Advisor has developed to help you make your educational decision. Our analysis looked at 1,341 schools in the United States to see which bachelor's degree programs offered the best educational experiences for students. Factors related to overall quality of the school, post-graduation earnings, average student debt, and more accumulated were considered when coming up with this list.
View our full ranking methodology.
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Top Bachelor's Degree Schools in the United States
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our 2023 rankings named Massachusetts Institute of Technology the best school in the United States for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
MIT does not offer a discount to in-state students, so the average tuition and fees for all undergraduates is $55,878. This amount may be reduced if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $12,518 in student loans.
MIT is primarily an online school, so it is a great choice for returning adults and students who work full time.
A rank of #2 on this year’s list means Bowdoin College is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $58,322 to cover tuition and fees at Bowdoin. The school does not offer an in-state discount.
A rank of #3 on this year’s list means Stanford University is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $56,169 to cover tuition and fees at Stanford. The school does not offer an in-state discount. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from Stanford accumulate an average of $13,926 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Out of the 1,341 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, Dartmouth College landed the # 4 spot on the list.
The average tuition and fees at Dartmouth is $60,648. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $17,163 in student loans.
Some students may be able to take online classes at Dartmouth. During the 2019-2020 year, about 100% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Out of the 1,341 schools in the United States that were part of this year’s ranking, California Institute of Technology landed the # 5 spot on the list.
If you want to attend Caltech, expect to pay an average of $58,680 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid.
Pomona College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #6 on the list.
If you want to attend Pomona, expect to pay an average of $56,686 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid.
Williams College came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.
The average tuition and fees at Williams is $59,660. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from Williams accumulate an average of $13,557 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
With a ranking of #8, University of Notre Dame did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
Notre Dame does not offer a discount to in-state students, so the average tuition and fees for all undergraduates is $58,843. This amount may be reduced if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $19,395 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that Notre Dame does offer online classes in some areas. In fact, around 53% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Princeton University came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.
Online courses are available at Princeton, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 100% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
Carnegie Mellon University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #10 on the list.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $58,524 to cover tuition and fees at Carnegie Mellon. The school does not offer an in-state discount.
If you are interested in distance education, be sure to check with the school since Carnegie Mellon does offer online classes for certain majors. In 2019-2020 about 1% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Rice University landed the #11 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree programs.
The average tuition and fees at Rice is $52,895. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $13,206 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that Rice does offer online classes in some areas. Of all the undergraduates enrolled at the school during the 2019-2020 academic year, around 99% took at least some of their classes online.
Duke University ranked #12 on this year’s Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
If you want to attend Duke, expect to pay an average of $60,244 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $29,049 in student loans.
Depending on your major, you may be able to take online classes at Duke. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 99% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Pennsylvania ranked #13 on this year’s Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
The average tuition and fees at UPenn is $61,710. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from UPenn accumulate an average of $17,404 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Some students may be able to take online classes at UPenn. In fact, around 100% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Brown University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #14 on the list.
If you want to attend Brown, expect to pay an average of $62,304 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $14,769 in student loans.
Brown does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 100% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Bucknell University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #15 on the list.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $59,802 to cover tuition and fees at Bucknell. The school does not offer an in-state discount. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $20,110 in loans while pursuing their degree.
With a ranking of #16, Cornell University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $61,015 to cover tuition and fees at Cornell. The school does not offer an in-state discount. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from Cornell accumulate an average of $14,061 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Online courses are available at Cornell, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 100% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Harvard University ranked #17 on this year’s Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools list.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $55,587 to cover tuition and fees at Harvard. The school does not offer an in-state discount. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $29,366 in student loans.
One thing to take note of is that Harvard does offer online classes in some areas. In fact, around 100% of the undergraduate population registered for at least one online class in 2019-2020.
Colgate University landed the #18 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree programs.
The average tuition and fees at Colgate is $61,966. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from Colgate accumulate an average of $14,450 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Online courses are available at Colgate, but you will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your field of interest. In 2019-2020 about 96% of the undergraduate students at the school chose to take one or more online courses.
Bates College did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #19 on the list.
Bachelor’s Degree recipients from Bates accumulate an average of $11,824 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Excelsior College came in at #20 in this year’s edition of the Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.
By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $22,305 in student loans.
Since Excelsior College is primarily an online school, it is an excellent choice for undergraduate students who need more flexibility than what is offered at some other schools.
Yale University did quite well in this year’s ranking of the best places for students to get a bachelor’s degree. It came in at #21 on the list.
By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $15,684 in student loans.
Yale does have options available for those who want to take online classes. You will need to check with the school to see if they are available for your specific major. To give an idea of how popular online courses are at the school, 100% of undergraduates took at least one course online in 2019-2020.
University of Chicago came in at #22 in this year’s edition of the Best Bachelor’s Degree Schools ranking.
The average tuition and fees at UChicago is $60,963. In-state students do not receive a discount, however you may be able to reduce your price if you receive financial aid. On average, bachelor’s degree students take out $15,217 in loans while pursuing their degree.
With a ranking of #23, Lehigh University did quite well on this year’s best schools for students working on their bachelor’s degree.
If you want to attend Lehigh, expect to pay an average of $57,470 in tuition and fees. Of course, this could be reduced if you receive financial aid.
Lehigh does offer online classes for certain degree levels. During the 2019-2020 year, about 0% of the undergraduates at the school took at least one online course.
Haverford College landed the #24 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree programs.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $60,940 to cover tuition and fees at Haverford. The school does not offer an in-state discount. By the time they get their bachelor’s degree, students from this school have racked up an average of $17,199 in student loans.
Northwestern University landed the #25 spot in the 2023 rankings for the best bachelor’s degree programs.
If you don’t receive financial aid, you can expect a bill for $60,768 to cover tuition and fees at Northwestern. The school does not offer an in-state discount. Bachelor’s Degree recipients from Northwestern accumulate an average of $18,404 in student debt by the time they complete their degree.
Rest of the Top 50 Best Bachelor's Degree Schools in the United States
Not only did these schools make the top 50 list, but they also landed in the top 15% of this year’s ranking:
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Rest of the Top 15% Best Bachelor's Degree Schools in the United States
To learn more about the schools below, just click on their names:
Honorable Mentions
These schools also performed well in our best schools ranking:
Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
- Read more about our ranking methodology.
- The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
- Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
- Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.
More about our data sources and methodologies.
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