Top Colleges for Students in 2024

To put together our list of the best colleges, we created the Scholarships360 College Index using reliable data sourced from the College Scorecard. This index weighs graduate income, net price, student debt, and completion rates to produce a figure that indicates how well the school performs for its students. Here are some reasons why we think these numbers are so important:

• Graduate income: College is a huge investment for students and their families. Before taking out loans and paying hefty tuition bills, a student should feel confident that their degree will pay itself back financially. Graduate income is one of the best ways to gauge whether a school gives its students a financial leg-up. With this said, one of the flaws with graduate income is that it measures overall income as opposed to income by major. Generally, choice of major is more predictive of future income than the college you choose.
• Completion rates: One of the best ways to gauge student satisfaction at a school is to consider what percentage of students actually finish their degree. A higher completion rate indicates that the school fulfills its students’ needs and provides them with the resources for a successful academic career.
• Student debt: Looking at student debt is a great way to get an idea of a school’s financial aid. For most students, finances are a huge constraint in their college decision, and this figure can help give them an idea of whether they will be able to afford a school or not.
• Net Price: Net price shows the average amount that students pay per year after financial aid and loans are factored in. We look at net price rather than tuition cost because it’s the most relevant to how much a student will actually have to pay in order to attend.

Our list consists of the four-year, in-person institutions that ranked highest on our index. These schools were selected from all across the country and perform well in all four of the categories listed above.

Note: We assessed each college based on data available in the College Scorecard. However, the Scorecard was missing data from some schools. We were unable to consider schools with missing data which may have otherwise qualified. U.S. Military Academies were among the schools we were unable to consider due to lack of data.