The Least Expensive Private Colleges

The cost of tuition for full-time college students has seen a steady increase for decades, a concerning trend for future high school graduates. This trend, coupled with the recent decline in median household income, makes the task of affording higher education even more challenging.

The burden is even more difficult to bear for those hoping to attend private universities. Generally speaking, a private school education is significantly pricier than a public education. The perks of going to a private school — small class sizes and more resources available, for example — can make the added cost worthwhile, but that doesn’t mean you have to spend more than $40,000 per year.

Using data from the 2014-2015 school year provided by the U.S. Department of Education, StartClass has found the 25 private universities with the lowest tuition for full-time students. For this study, we only considered schools with at least 5,000 undergraduate students and a Smart Rating of 80 or higher. The Smart Rating scores each college on a scale of 0-100 in order to rate the overall quality and is determined based on the following factors: financial affordability, career readiness, admissions selectivity, expert opinion and academic excellence.

#25. LIU Post

Location: Brookville, NY
Smart Rating: 80
2014-2015 Tuition: $34,852
Undergraduate Enrollment: 7,983

#24. Savannah College of Art and Design

Location: Savannah, GA
Smart Rating: 87
2014-2015 Tuition: $34,295
Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,825

#23. Azusa Pacific University

Location: Azusa, CA
Smart Rating: 88
2014-2015 Tuition: $33,096
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,543

#22. Regis University

Location: Denver, CO
Smart Rating: 87
2014-2015 Tuition: $33,060
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,172

#21. Duquesne University

Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Smart Rating: 93
2014-2015 Tuition: $32,636
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,970

#20. Marist College

Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Smart Rating: 90
2014-2015 Tuition: $32,590
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,566

#19. Adelphi University

Location: Garden City, NY
Smart Rating: 92
2014-2015 Tuition: $32,340
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,040

#18. Elon University

Location: Elon, NC
Smart Rating: 89
2014-2015 Tuition: $31,247
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,599

#17. California Baptist University

Location: Riverside, CA
Smart Rating: 80
2014-2015 Tuition: $29,422
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,797

#16. Belmont University

Location: Nashville, TN
Smart Rating: 88
2014-2015 Tuition: $28,660
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,506

#15. Johnson & Wales University-Providence

Location: Providence, RI
Smart Rating: 80
2014-2015 Tuition: $28,539
Undergraduate Enrollment: 9,401

#14. Nova Southeastern University

Location: Fort Lauderdale, FL
Smart Rating: 86
2014-2015 Tuition: $26,700
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,156

#13. University of the Incarnate Word

Location: San Antonio, TX
Smart Rating: 80
2014-2015 Tuition: $26,490
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,491

#12. University of Tampa

Location: Tampa, FL
Smart Rating: 87
2014-2015 Tuition: $26,330
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,499

#11. Indiana Institute of Technology

Location: Fort Wayne, IN
Smart Rating: 90
2014-2015 Tuition: $24,860
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,717

#10. Indiana Wesleyan University

Location: Marion, IN
Smart Rating: 84
2014-2015 Tuition: $24,102
Undergraduate Enrollment: 10,766

#9. Howard University

Location: Washington, DC
Smart Rating: 90
2014-2015 Tuition: $23,970
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,974

#8. Columbia College-Chicago

Location: Chicago, IL
Smart Rating: 81
2014-2015 Tuition: $23,544
Undergraduate Enrollment: 9,671

#7. Hawaii Pacific University

Location: Honolulu, HI
Smart Rating: 85
2014-2015 Tuition: $21,130
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,582

#6. Liberty University

Location: Lynchburg, VA
Smart Rating: 81
2014-2015 Tuition: $21,000
Undergraduate Enrollment: 47,464

#5. Saint Leo University

Location: Saint Leo, FL
Smart Rating: 80
2014-2015 Tuition: $20,420
Undergraduate Enrollment: 12,640

#4. York College Pennsylvania

Location: York, PA
Smart Rating: 86
2014-2015 Tuition: $17,630
Undergraduate Enrollment: 5,010

#3. Touro College

Location: New York, NY
Smart Rating: 85
2014-2015 Tuition: $15,650
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,827

#2. Lindenwood University

Location: Saint Charles, MO
Smart Rating: 85
2014-2015 Tuition: $15,580
Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,453

#1. Brigham Young University

Location: Provo, UT
Smart Rating: 91
2014-2015 Tuition: $5,000*
Undergraduate Enrollment: 27,765

*Note: The listed tuition is for students who are members of the LDS church. Non-LDS members paid $10,300 in tuition for the 2015-2016 school year, according to the school’s website.

  This article originally appeared on FindTheBest: Education and has been republished with permission.
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Author: Connor Brooke

Connor is a Scottish financial expert, specialising in wealth management and equity investing. Based in Glasgow, Connor writes full-time for a wide selection of financial websites, whilst also providing startup consulting to small businesses. Holding a Bachelor’s degree in Finance, and a Master’s degree in Investment Fund Management, Connor has

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