New York Times Sunday Review — May 25, 2017
Top Colleges Doing the Most for the American Dream
Welcome to the third annual College Access Index. It’s a New York Times ranking of colleges — those with a five-year graduation rate of at least 75 percent — based on their commitment to economic diversity. The ranking is based on a combination of the number of lower-and middle-income students that a college enrolls and the price it charges these students. The top of the ranking is dominated by campuses in the University of California system, while the most diverse private colleges include Amherst, Pomona, Harvard and Vassar. Notably, a college’s endowment does not determine its commitment to economic diversity. There are wealthy colleges and much less wealthy ones at both the top and bottom of the ranking. Read the related column.
| Rank | College | Freshman class | Pell grad share | Net price, mid. income | College Access Index | Endowment per student |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of California-Irvine | 5,400 | 39 | $12k | 1.90 | $11.1k |
| 2 | University of California-Santa Barbara | 4,600 | 31 | $13k | 1.61 | $7.1k |
| 3 | University of California-Davis | 5,100 | 30 | $13k | 1.60 | $11.2k |
| 4 | University of California-San Diego | 5,200 | 29 | $11k | 1.58 | $22.2k |
| 5 | University of California-Los Angeles | 5,700 | 26 | $11k | 1.52 | $54.2k |
| 6 | University of Florida | 6,500 | 22 | $8k | 1.46 | $33.3k |
| 7 | Amherst College | 500 | 22 | $9k | 1.44 | $1.141m |
| 8 | Pomona College | 500 | 20 | $7k | 1.43 | $1.288m |
| 9 | University of California-Berkeley | 4,700 | 22 | $11k | 1.38 | $46.3k |
| 10 | Harvard University | 1,700 | 15 | $5k | 1.36 | $1.51m |
| 11 | Vassar College | 700 | 21 | $11k | 1.36 | $397k |
| 12 | Williams College | 500 | 18 | $7k | 1.35 | $1.049m |
| 13 | Princeton University | 1,300 | 16 | $6k | 1.34 | $2.662m |
| 14 | Wellesley College | 600 | 18 | $9k | 1.32 | $763.1k |
| 15 | Stanford University | 1,700 | 14 | $4k | 1.31 | $1.448m |
| 16 | Knox College | 400 | 26 | $18k | 1.30 | $92.9k |
| 17 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 4,000 | 18 | $10k | 1.30 | $103.8k |
| 18 | Columbia University | 1,400 | 16 | $9k | 1.26 | $324.2k |
| 19 | Barnard College | 600 | 19 | $12k | 1.25 | $115.3k |
| 20 | Yale University | 1,400 | 14 | $7k | 1.22 | $1.759m |
| 21 | Westminster College | 300 | 25 | $19k | 1.21 | $80.4k |
| 22 | Wesleyan University | 800 | 17 | $12k | 1.21 | $240.3k |
| 23 | Davidson College | 500 | 13 | $7k | 1.20 | $356.8k |
| 24 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 1,000 | 14 | $9k | 1.20 | $1.206m |
| 25 | Texas A & M University-College Station | 9,000 | 17 | $11k | 1.19 | $175.4k |
| 26 | Brown University | 1,600 | 15 | $10k | 1.19 | $337.2k |
| 27 | University of Georgia | 5,200 | 16 | $12k | 1.18 | $28.3k |
| 28 | Occidental College | 500 | 19 | $14k | 1.18 | $181.4k |
| 29 | Grinnell College | 400 | 18 | $14k | 1.17 | $1.057m |
| 30 | Rice University | 1,000 | 13 | $8k | 1.17 | $768.1k |
| 31 | Rutgers University-New Brunswick | 6,400 | 21 | $17k | 1.17 | $14.9k |
| 32 | Duke University | 1,700 | 12 | $7k | 1.17 | $478k |
| 33 | Middlebury College | 600 | 15 | $10k | 1.16 | $326k |
| 34 | Washington and Lee University | 500 | 9 | $5k | 1.16 | $679.3k |
| 35 | Gustavus Adolphus College | 600 | 21 | $17k | 1.16 | $57.7k |
| 36 | Vanderbilt University | 1,600 | 12 | $8k | 1.16 | $353.1k |
| 37 | University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign | 7,300 | 18 | $15k | 1.14 | $26.2k |
| 38 | Bowdoin College | 500 | 13 | $10k | 1.12 | $778.9k |
| 39 | University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 6,200 | 12 | $9k | 1.12 | $220k |
| 40 | Swarthmore College | 400 | 15 | $12k | 1.11 | $1.173m |
| 41 | College of Saint Benedict | 500 | 21 | $19k | 1.11 | $29.3k |
| 42 | Hamilton College | 500 | 14 | $12k | 1.11 | $492.5k |
| 43 | Dartmouth College | 1,100 | 13 | $10k | 1.10 | $718.5k |
| 44 | SUNY at Binghamton | 2,600 | 19 | $17k | 1.10 | $5.9k |
| 45 | University of Pennsylvania | 2,400 | 13 | $10k | 1.10 | $427.1k |
| 46 | Franklin and Marshall College | 600 | 16 | $14k | 1.09 | $135.5k |
| 47 | Allegheny College | 600 | 21 | $19k | 1.09 | $94.4k |
| 48 | Moody Bible Institute | 400 | 22 | $20k | 1.08 | $11.4k |
| 49 | University of Richmond | 800 | 14 | $13k | 1.08 | $583.9k |
| 50 | Smith College | 600 | 16 | $15k | 1.08 | $554.9k |
| 51 | Trinity College | 600 | 14 | $13k | 1.07 | $240.5k |
| 52 | Colgate University | 800 | 11 | $10k | 1.06 | $312.6k |
| 53 | St. Olaf College | 800 | 15 | $14k | 1.05 | $151.9k |
| 54 | Haverford College | 300 | 13 | $12k | 1.05 | $379k |
| 55 | University of Chicago | 1,400 | 10 | $9k | 1.04 | $462.1k |
| 56 | College of William and Mary | 1,500 | 9 | $8k | 1.04 | $97.4k |
| 57 | Colorado College | 500 | 11 | $11k | 1.04 | $314.5k |
| 58 | University of Texas at Austin | 7,100 | 15 | $15k | 1.04 | $72.5k |
| 59 | Washington & Jefferson College | 300 | 21 | $21k | 1.03 | $100.7k |
| 60 | Colby College | 500 | 9 | $8k | 1.03 | $362.6k |
| 61 | Reed College | 400 | 14 | $13k | 1.03 | $385.6k |
| 62 | Wheaton College (Illinois) | 500 | 16 | $16k | 1.03 | $139.1k |
| 63 | Claremont McKenna College | 300 | 12 | $12k | 1.03 | $543.2k |
| 64 | Georgia Tech | 2,700 | 11 | $11k | 1.02 | $78.8k |
| 65 | St. Mary’s College of Maryland | 400 | 13 | $13k | 1.02 | $17.8k |
| 66 | Mount Holyoke College | 500 | 15 | $15k | 1.02 | $300.8k |
| 67 | University of Maryland-College Park | 4,000 | 11 | $11k | 1.02 | $15.1k |
| 68 | University of Rochester | 1,500 | 16 | $17k | 1.02 | $185.7k |
| 69 | Brandeis University | 800 | 17 | $18k | 1.01 | $130.7k |
| 70 | SUNY College at Geneseo | 1,100 | 14 | $14k | 1.00 | $5.3k |
| 71 | Johns Hopkins University | 1,400 | 12 | $13k | 1.00 | $149.3k |
| 72 | Carleton College | 500 | 13 | $14k | 1.00 | $390.8k |
| 73 | Clemson University | 3,300 | 13 | $14k | 0.99 | $40.2k |
| 74 | Denison University | 600 | 14 | $16k | 0.99 | $363k |
| 75 | Kalamazoo College | 500 | 16 | $17k | 0.99 | $150.1k |
| 76 | Emory University | 1,900 | 17 | $18k | 0.99 | $468.8k |
| 77 | Ohio State University-Main Campus | 7,100 | 13 | $14k | 0.99 | $63.4k |
| 78 | Saint Johns University | 500 | 16 | $17k | 0.99 | $94.5k |
| 79 | Cornell University | 3,200 | 13 | $14k | 0.99 | $211.9k |
| 80 | Northwestern University | 2,000 | 13 | $14k | 0.99 | $396.2k |
| 81 | Macalester College | 600 | 14 | $16k | 0.98 | $387.9k |
| 82 | Siena College | 800 | 19 | $21k | 0.98 | $42.6k |
| 83 | Tufts University | 1,300 | 12 | $14k | 0.96 | $140.3k |
| 84 | University of New Hampshire-Main Campus | 2,900 | 17 | $20k | 0.96 | $22.6k |
| 85 | St Lawrence University | 600 | 16 | $19k | 0.95 | $117.5k |
| 86 | Hope College | 800 | 15 | $18k | 0.95 | $59.5k |
| 87 | University of Virginia-Main Campus | 3,500 | 11 | $13k | 0.94 | $252.6k |
| 88 | University of Southern California | 2,900 | 17 | $19k | 0.94 | $121.7k |
| 89 | University of Notre Dame | 2,100 | 10 | $13k | 0.94 | $684.4k |
| 90 | Juniata College | 400 | 19 | $22k | 0.94 | $72.7k |
| 91 | Georgetown University | 1,600 | 11 | $14k | 0.94 | $97.3k |
| 92 | University of Delaware | 4,200 | 10 | $13k | 0.94 | $58.4k |
| 93 | University of Connecticut | 3,700 | 13 | $16k | 0.94 | $14.1k |
| 94 | College of the Holy Cross | 700 | 15 | $18k | 0.93 | $228.2k |
| 95 | Skidmore College | 700 | 11 | $14k | 0.92 | $129.2k |
| 96 | Kenyon College | 500 | 9 | $12k | 0.92 | $116.5k |
| 97 | Bryn Mawr College | 400 | 11 | $15k | 0.92 | $493.9k |
| 98 | DePauw University | 600 | 14 | $18k | 0.90 | $290.5k |
| 99 | Sewanee | 500 | 13 | $17k | 0.90 | $209.2k |
| 100 | Virginia Tech | 5,400 | 11 | $15k | 0.90 | $25.4k |
| 101 | James Madison University | 4,200 | 11 | $15k | 0.89 | $4k |
| 102 | Wofford College | 400 | 15 | $20k | 0.89 | $103.8k |
| 103 | Lawrence University | 400 | 15 | $19k | 0.89 | $178.7k |
| 104 | Gettysburg College | 700 | 12 | $16k | 0.89 | $111.7k |
| 105 | University of Wisconsin-Madison | 6,300 | 9 | $14k | 0.89 | $86.2k |
| 106 | Bates College | 500 | 9 | $13k | 0.88 | $147.5k |
| 107 | Willamette University | 500 | 19 | $24k | 0.88 | $89.5k |
| 108 | Syracuse University | 3,500 | 18 | $23k | 0.88 | $52.8k |
| 109 | College of New Jersey | 1,400 | 13 | $18k | 0.87 | $4.2k |
| 110 | Stonehill College | 600 | 16 | $21k | 0.87 | $81.4k |
| 111 | Clark University | 600 | 19 | $24k | 0.86 | $111.7k |
| 112 | Illinois Wesleyan University | 500 | 16 | $22k | 0.86 | $128.6k |
| 113 | Lehigh University | 1,200 | 12 | $17k | 0.86 | $182.3k |
| 114 | Washington University in St. Louis | 1,600 | 8 | $13k | 0.86 | $489.5k |
| 115 | Luther College | 600 | 15 | $21k | 0.86 | $62.9k |
| 116 | Boston College | 2,300 | 11 | $16k | 0.85 | $177.9k |
| 117 | Connecticut College | 500 | 12 | $18k | 0.84 | $136.8k |
| 118 | Ursinus College | 400 | 17 | $23k | 0.83 | $85.2k |
| 119 | Trinity University | 500 | 11 | $18k | 0.82 | $485.9k |
| 120 | Babson College | 500 | 13 | $20k | 0.82 | $107.1k |
| 121 | Wake Forest University | 1,200 | 9 | $16k | 0.81 | $151.9k |
| 122 | Union College | 600 | 10 | $17k | 0.80 | $172.5k |
| 123 | Bentley University | 1,000 | 13 | $21k | 0.78 | $52.4k |
| 124 | Lafayette College | 600 | 9 | $17k | 0.78 | $314.4k |
| 125 | Oberlin College | 800 | 8 | $16k | 0.77 | $294.5k |
| 126 | Messiah College | 600 | 14 | $22k | 0.77 | $40.1k |
| 127 | Dickinson College | 600 | 10 | $18k | 0.76 | $167k |
| 128 | Whitman College | 400 | 10 | $19k | 0.76 | $355.9k |
| 129 | Centre College | 400 | 14 | $23k | 0.75 | $209.3k |
| 130 | Fairfield University | 1,000 | 11 | $20k | 0.74 | $66.4k |
| 131 | Case Western Reserve University | 1,300 | 14 | $24k | 0.73 | $179.2k |
| 132 | Rhodes College | 500 | 12 | $22k | 0.72 | $162.3k |
| 133 | Muhlenberg College | 600 | 10 | $20k | 0.72 | $92.9k |
| 134 | Stevens Institute of Technology | 600 | 15 | $25k | 0.71 | $32.7k |
| 135 | Hobart William Smith Colleges | 600 | 11 | $21k | 0.70 | $85.3k |
| 136 | American University | 1,600 | 14 | $25k | 0.69 | $49.5k |
| 137 | Northeastern University | 2,900 | 10 | $21k | 0.68 | $30.8k |
| 138 | University of Denver | 1,400 | 12 | $23k | 0.68 | $43.6k |
| 139 | University of Portland | 800 | 16 | $27k | 0.67 | $34.6k |
| 140 | Pepperdine University | 800 | 14 | $25k | 0.66 | $104.1k |
| 141 | New York University | 5,200 | 18 | $30k | 0.65 | $71.1k |
| 142 | Furman University | 800 | 10 | $22k | 0.65 | $205.3k |
| 143 | Bucknell University | 900 | 10 | $22k | 0.65 | $206.8k |
| 144 | Miami University (Ohio) | 3,600 | 8 | $20k | 0.64 | $33.4k |
| 145 | Loyola University Maryland | 1,100 | 13 | $25k | 0.64 | $38.1k |
| 146 | Marquette University | 2,000 | 12 | $24k | 0.63 | $49.7k |
| 147 | Boston University | 3,800 | 12 | $25k | 0.63 | $51.8k |
| 148 | Villanova University | 1,700 | 11 | $24k | 0.63 | $55.6k |
| 149 | Carnegie Mellon University | 1,400 | 10 | $23k | 0.62 | $109.9k |
| 150 | Santa Clara University | 1,300 | 11 | $24k | 0.62 | $69.4k |
| 151 | Penn State University-Main Campus | 8,000 | 11 | $24k | 0.62 | $39.1k |
| 152 | Ithaca College | 1,800 | 14 | $28k | 0.61 | $42.3k |
| 153 | University of Dayton | 1,800 | 10 | $24k | 0.60 | $48.2k |
| 154 | Rhode Island School of Design | 500 | 14 | $28k | 0.60 | $132.9k |
| 155 | George Washington University | 2,300 | 10 | $24k | 0.59 | $74.7k |
| 156 | University of Pittsburgh | 4,000 | 11 | $24k | 0.59 | $120.2k |
| 157 | Providence College | 1,000 | 11 | $25k | 0.59 | $46.8k |
| 158 | Fordham University | 1,900 | 14 | $29k | 0.58 | $43.5k |
| 159 | Southern Methodist University | 1,400 | 9 | $23k | 0.57 | $145.8k |
| 160 | Gonzaga University | 1,200 | 12 | $28k | 0.55 | $30.5k |
| 161 | Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | 1,400 | 12 | $28k | 0.54 | $94.4k |
| 162 | University of Miami | 2,100 | 12 | $28k | 0.54 | $52.5k |
| 163 | Marist College | 1,100 | 11 | $27k | 0.52 | $9.6k |
| 164 | Worcester Polytechnic Institute | 1,100 | 10 | $29k | 0.44 | $103.3k |
| 165 | Quinnipiac University | 1,800 | 11 | $31k | 0.42 | $41.2k |
| 166 | Bryant University | 900 | 11 | $30k | 0.42 | $48.5k |
| 167 | Elon University | 1,500 | 6 | $26k | 0.38 | $34.7k |
| 168 | Saint Joseph’s University | 1,300 | 8 | $29k | 0.36 | $28.7k |
| 169 | Emerson College | 900 | 13 | $35k | 0.35 | $31.8k |
| 170 | University of Puget Sound | 700 | 10 | $34k | 0.28 | $129.8k |
Pell grad share for each college is the average share of the freshman class that received a Pell grant in 2012-13, 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16, multiplied by the graduation rate for recent Pell recipients. Later years count more; not all colleges released 2015-16 data. Graduation rates for Pell students at some colleges are estimated.
Net price for middle-income students covers tuition, fees, room and board, after taking into account federal, state and institutional financial aid, and it applies to students who come from households earning between $48,000 and $75,000 a year and qualifying for federal aid. Loans and wages from work-study jobs are counted in the net price as part of the students’ cost.
The College Access Index is a combination of a colleges’ Pell graduates and net price, compared with the average school. (The index is based on the net price for both the $48,000-to-$75,000 income range shown here and the $30,000-to-$48,000 income range.) A college with an average score on the two measures in combination will receive a one. Scores above one indicate the most effort.
Endowment per student is for the year 2012-13 and includes graduate students.
