2021 Best Colleges for the Money (With No Aid) in Maine
With all of the options you have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our Best Maine Schools For The Money For Those With No Aid ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.
We analyzed 17 colleges and universities to determine which were the best for overall value for the money with no aid in Maine. It's important to note that this isn't just a listing of colleges and universities with the lowest sticker price. Instead, this ranking identifies schools that offer a high quality educational experience at a lower-than-expected price. Because of this, it is possible for one college to rank better than another, even if the latter college has a lower average cost.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
To calculate the average cost amount, we sum up the total expenses to attend a school - such as tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, and other living expenses. This estimate is meant to give you a better picture of how much money you'll have to pay each year, either through self-pay, loans, or external scholarships.
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One Size Does Not Fit All
We know that one set of rankings doesn't always help you determine the best school for you, so we've created the ability to narrow your list by location and field of study as well as alternative rankings that prioritize different factors, such as those of importance to veterans and returning adults or those seeking diversity and overall quality.
One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. If you're torn between two schools, you can use it to help you see how they stack up against one another!
Top Colleges for the Money (Without Aid) in Maine
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found Maine Maritime Academy to be the best school for overall value for the money with no aid in Maine in this year’s ranking. This small public school is located in Castine, Maine, and it awarded 207 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Maine Maritime graduates in less than 4.3 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $28,208. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Maine Maritime be around $122,141. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.1%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%. In addition to its best value ranking, and one of the reasons why the school is on the list, Maine Maritime is ranked #4 for overall quality in Maine.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Maine helped the school earn the #2 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for the money in Maine. This fairly large public school is located in Orono, Maine, and it awarded 1,739 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at UMaine about 4.4 years to graduate, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $25,604 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from UMaine is $112,402. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
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A rank of #3 on our Best Colleges for the Money in Maine list means University of Maine at Farmington is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Farmington, Maine, the small public school handed out 372 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.3 years for the average student at UMaine Farmington to complete their degree, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $23,132 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from UMaine Farmington be around $99,236. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.7%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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The excellent bachelor’s degree programs at University of Southern Maine helped the school earn the #4 place on this year’s ranking of the best schools for the money in Maine. Portland, Maine is the setting for this medium-sized institution of higher learning. The public school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 1,123 students in 2018-2019.
The average student at University of Southern Maine graduates in less than 4.6 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $22,782 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from University of Southern Maine is $104,569. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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A rank of #5 on our Best Colleges for the Money in Maine list means University of Maine at Fort Kent is a great place for students working on their bachelor’s degree. Located in Fort Kent, Maine, the small public school handed out 241 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At UMFK, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.5 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $20,245 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $90,495 to get a bachelor’s degree from UMFK. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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Bowdoin College came in at #6 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in Maine ranking. Bowdoin College is a small private not-for-profit school located in Brunswick, Maine that handed out 664 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.1 years for the average student at Bowdoin to complete their degree, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $73,800 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $301,104 to get a bachelor’s degree from Bowdoin. When you graduate sooner, you can save a lot of money.
The student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Bowdoin also made our Best Colleges in Maine list, coming in at #1.
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Colby College landed the #7 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Maine ranking. Located in Waterville, Maine, the small private not-for-profit school handed out 608 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At Colby, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.0 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $73,600 for students who receive no aid. This makes the estimated cost of a bachelor’s degree from Colby be around $296,608. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 94%. Colby did well in our quality rankings, too. It placed #2 on our Best Colleges in Maine list.
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Bates College ranked #8 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in Maine list. Bates is located in Lewiston, Maine and has a small student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 565 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Bates is 4.0 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $73,538. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Bates is $297,094. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
With a freshman retention rate of 95%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. Bates did well in our quality rankings, too. It placed #3 on our Best Colleges in Maine list.
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University of Maine at Machias came in at #9 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges for the Money in Maine ranking. University of Maine-Machias is a small public school situated in Machias, Maine. It awarded 74 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes about 4.6 years for the average student at University of Maine-Machias to complete their degree, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $20,516. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from University of Maine-Machias is about $94,784. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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College of the Atlantic did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #10. College of the Atlantic is a small private not-for-profit school located in Bar Harbor, Maine that handed out 83 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
At College of the Atlantic, the average time it takes a student to graduate is 4.3 years, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $54,969 for students who receive no aid. When we combine these numbers, we estimate that the cost to get a bachelor’s degree from College of the Atlantic is $235,817. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 2.8%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. College of the Atlantic did well in our quality rankings, too. It placed #5 on our Best Colleges in Maine list.
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University of Maine at Augusta did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #11. Located in Augusta, Maine, the small public school awarded 414 diplomas to qualifed bachelor’s degree students in 2018-2019.
The average student at UMA graduates in less than 5.0 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $20,968 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from UMA is $104,211. When students graduate in a lesser amount of time, they can save thousands of dollars.
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University of New England did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #12. UNE is located in Biddeford, Maine and has a medium-sized student population. In 2018-2019, this school awarded 533 bachelor’s degrees to qualified undergradutates.
It takes about 4.1 years for the average student at UNE to complete their degree, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $57,310 for students who receive no aid. This means that the average student pays around $233,825 to get a bachelor’s degree from UNE. If you can shave even one term off your degree, you can save a substantial amount of money.
The student loan default rate at the school is 2.4%, which is quite low when compared to the national default rate of 10.1%.
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Husson University did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #13. Husson University is a small private not-for-profit school located in Bangor, Maine that handed out 500 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
It takes the average student at Husson about 4.6 years to graduate, and on average, the annual cost to attend the school is $31,793 for students who receive no aid. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from Husson is about $147,520. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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Unity College did quite well in the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Maine ranking, coming in at #14. Unity, Maine is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out bachelor’s degrees to 158 students in 2018-2019.
The average student at Unity graduates in less than 4.1 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $42,880 for students who receive no aid. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from Unity is $177,523. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
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Saint Joseph’s College of Maine landed the #15 spot on the 2021 Best Value Colleges in Maine ranking. Saint Joseph’s College of Maine is a small private not-for-profit school located in Standish, Maine that handed out 333 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average amount of time it takes for a student to receive their degree at Saint Joseph’s Maine is 4.2 years, and the yearly average cost to attend the school is $53,710 for students who receive no aid. Thus, the average cost to get a bachelor’s degree from the Saint Joseph’s Maine is $225,582. Graduating sooner can prevent you from having to pay more money out of pocket.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.
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With a ranking of #16, Thomas College did quite well on the 2021 Best Colleges for the Money in Maine list. This small private not-for-profit school is located in Waterville, Maine, and it awarded 202 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at Thomas College graduates in less than 4.1 years, and the estimated yearly cost for the school is $42,140 for students who receive no aid. Looking at these numbers together, we estimate that the average cost of a bachelor’s degree from Thomas College is about $174,038. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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Maine College of Art ranked #17 on this year’s Best Colleges for the Money in Maine list. Maine College of Art is a small private not-for-profit school located in Portland, Maine that handed out 73 bachelor’s degrees in 2018-2019.
The average student at MECA „ Meca „ Portland School of Art graduates in less than 4.0 years, and the average full-time cost to attend the school for students who receive no aid is around $52,544. Putting this cost and the average time to graduate together, we find that the average amount you’ll pay to get a bachelor’s degree from MECA „ Meca „ Portland School of Art is $211,227. The sooner a student graduates, the more money they can save.
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Notes and References
Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 17 schools only.
- For our state-specific rankings, we use in-state tuition to calculate average cost. For our national and regional rankings, we use a weighted average of in-state and non-resident tuition.
References
- 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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