The 10 private colleges with the best ROI in the U.S.

Private colleges tend to be more expensive than public schools in the U.S., but they can also deliver a significant return on investment. 

Princeton University delivers the best ROI among private colleges in the U.S., according to The Princeton Review’s latest rankings. (The Princeton Review is not associated with Princeton University.) The publication considered financial aid, academic rigor and admissions selectivity, as well as overall costs after aid, to determine the colleges that deliver the best value.

For the 2025-26 academic year, tuition at Princeton comes with a sticker price of $65,210, according to the school’s website. But students receiving financial aid pay an average of just $10,555 a year, and go on to earn a median income of over $110,000 a year a decade after attending, according to the most recent data from the Department of Education.

By comparison, students at Georgia Institute of Technology, the public college with the best ROI per Princeton Review, pay a higher average net price of $13,289 and earn less, a median of $102,772. Many of the best-value public colleges have lower sticker and average net prices than the private schools, but earnings fall short of private school grads’ incomes.

Here are the 10 private colleges that deliver the best ROI, according to Princeton Review, along with tuition figures for the 2025-26 academic year, per the schools’ websites; average annual net prices and median earnings among students who received financial aid 10 years after attendance, according to Department of Education data.

1. Princeton University

• 2025-26 tuition: $65,210
• Average net price 2023-24: $10,555
• Median earnings: $110,066

2. California Institute of Technology

• 2025-26 tuition: $65,622
• Average net price 2023-24: $18,902
• Median earnings: $128,566

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

• 2025-26 tuition: $64,310
• Average net price 2023-24: $19,813
• Median earnings: $143,372

4. Harvey Mudd College

• 2025-26 tuition: $72,699
• Average net price 2023-24: $32,492
• Median earnings: $138,687

5. Stanford University

• 2025-26 tuition: $67,731
• Average net price 2023-24: $12,136
• Median earnings: $124,080

6. Columbia University

• 2025-26 tuition: $70,170
• Average net price 2023-24: $20,148
• Median earnings: $102,491

7. Williams College

• 2025-26 tuition: $72,170
• Average net price 2023-24: $14,852
• Median earnings: $88,665

8. Harvard College

• 2025-26 tuition: $59,320
• Average net price 2023-24: $16,816
• Median earnings: $101,817

9. Dartmouth College

• 2025-26 tuition: $69,207
• Average net price 2023-24: $28,619
• Median earnings: $97,434

10. Yale University

• 2025-26 tuition: $69,900
• Average net price 2023-24: $27,818
• Median earnings: $100,533

Private schools, especially those like Princeton with large endowments and a number of wealthy donors, often give a generous amount of financial aid. Princeton was the first U.S. college to institute a “no-loan” policy in 2001 where the school covers the cost of attendance for students who demonstrate financial need. 

Now, dozens of schools throughout the country have adopted similar policies to help students and families attend prestigious universities without the burden of student debt. And while a free education doesn’t guarantee a good outcome, it can certainly help deliver a strong ROI. 

For example, MIT meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for students, but doesn’t have an explicit no-loan policy. Beginning with the 2025-26 school year, families earning $200,000 a year or less will pay $0 for tuition and families earning $100,000 or less will have fees like housing and meals covered as well.

Harvard similarly covers all costs for students if their families earn $100,000 a year or less and tuition for families earning $200,000 or less. Families earning more than $200,000 may still get some financial aid, depending on their individual situation.

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