by our College Data Analytics TeamIt's not easy to decide which college to attend when you have so many options available. One of our goals at College Factual is to give you as much information as we can - such as our Top Pennsylvania Colleges ranking - to help you make that decision.
After analyzing 103 schools in Pennsylvania, we came up with our list of those that offered the highest quality education. Our ranking is based on over 20 objective factors, including post graduate earnings, freshman retention, and graduation rate. We steer clear of subjective measures since they don't give a clear picture when determining how one school compares to another.
Get more details on our ranking methodology.
Since one ranking on its own is not enough to give you a complete understanding of your educational options, you can refine this list by location and field of study. We've also developed a number of other tools and rankings based on other factors. These other rankings highlight colleges that excel in other factors such as value or diversity as well as schools that excel in serving different groups of students such as veterans or returnings adults.
You can create your own custom comparison that focuses on the factors most important to you using our tool, College Combat. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering!
Learn more about these excellent schools below:
Our analysis found University of Pennsylvania to be the best school for overall quality in Pennsylvania in this year’s ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 2.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from UPenn make an average of $111,371 per year during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Carnegie Mellon University. It ranked #2 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Carnegie Mellon is $114,862 during the early years of their career.
You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Villanova University. The school came in at #3 in Pennsylvania on this year’s overall quality ranking.
With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. During the early years of their career, graduates from Villanova make an average of $100,423 a year.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Lehigh University. It ranked #4 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Lehigh is $105,584 during the early years of their career.
You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Swarthmore College. It ranked #5 on our 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 8 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. During the early years of their career, graduates from Swarthmore make an average of $80,257 a year.
University of Pittsburgh - Pittsburgh Campus ranked #6 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 93%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Pitt make an average of $66,125 per year during the early years of their career.
Thomas Jefferson University came in at #7 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1% During the early years of their career, graduates from Thomas Jefferson University make an average of $77,449 a year.
Temple University came in at #8 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $63,727 during the early years of their career..
Saint Joseph’s University ranked #9 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 86%. During the early years of their career, graduates from St. Joe’s make an average of $86,881 a year.
Drexel University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #10.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Drexel make an average of $84,648 a year.
Bucknell University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #11.
The school boasts an average 4-year graduation rate of 84%, which is excellent when compared to the national rate of 33%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Bucknell is $93,807 during the early years of their career.
Duquesne University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #12.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Duquesne make an average of $74,742 a year.
University of Scranton ranked #13 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from University of Scranton go into careers with an average salary of $74,652 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #14, Lafayette College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Bachelor’s degree students at the school tend to finish their degree on-time. The 4-year graduation rate is 86%, which is impressive compared to the national rate of 33%. Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $91,410 during the early years of their career..
With a ranking of #15, Haverford College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 96%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Haverford go into careers with an average salary of $79,966 during the early years of their career.
Gettysburg College landed the #16 spot on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 89%. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg is $71,517 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #17, Muhlenberg College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 91%. Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Muhlenberg go into careers with an average salary of $69,107 during the early years of their career.
With a ranking of #18, Franklin and Marshall College did quite well on the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Franklin and Marshall make an average of $76,124 per year during the early years of their career.
Widener University did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #19.
Those who receive a bachelor’s degree from Widener go into careers with an average salary of $70,920 during the early years of their career.
Lancaster Bible College ranked #20 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
Upon graduation, bachelor’s degree recipients go on to jobs making an average salary of $44,096 during the early years of their career..
Dickinson College came in at #21 in this year’s edition of the Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking.
The 4-year grad rate at the school is 81%. That’s impressive when you compare it to the national rate of 33%. During the early years of their career, graduates from Dickinson make an average of $70,204 a year.
Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology ranked #22 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology make an average of $54,681 a year.
La Salle University ranked #23 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
During the early years of their career, graduates from La Salle make an average of $67,416 a year.
Harcum College ranked #24 on this year’s Best Colleges in Pennsylvania list.
With a student-to-faculty rate of 4 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed. The average salary of a graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Harcum College is $46,827 during the early years of their career.
Community College of Philadelphia did quite well in the 2025 Best Colleges in Pennsylvania ranking, coming in at #25.
The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. Graduates with a bachelor’s degree from Community College of Philadelphia make an average of $40,852 per year during the early years of their career.
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Footnotes
*These averages are for the top 25 schools only.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.