Top National Universities Tuition Comparison

A national university is a 4-years (or high) school that offers diverse areas of major programs for both undergraduate and graduate programs such as University of California and Princeton University.

Here, we introduce the 2025 Top 50 National Universities and compare them with admission and tuition information. Massachusetts Institute of Technology ranks first in Top 50 National Universities ranking and Harvard University is placed in second. (Ranking data from College Evaluator)

Academic Comparison Between Top 50 National Universities

1 public and 29 private schools are included in the Top 50 National Universities ranking. The average acceptance rate of the schools is 7.89% where California Institute of Technology has the tightest acceptance rate of 2.57% and Boston College has the highest rate of 16.43%.

The average SAT score of the schools is 1,529 where Massachusetts Institute of Technology has the highest SAT score of 1,560. Total 647,066 students are attending the Top 50 National Universities where New York University is the largest with 57,335 students and California Institute of Technology is the smallest with 2,463 students.

The average graduation rate is 93.93% and the average students to faculty ratio is 7.83:1 at those colleges.

The following table compares the key academic facts between the Top 50 National Universities with acceptance rate, SAT scores, graduation rates, student population, and students to faculty ratio.

Table. Top 50 National Universities Key Academic Facts

Rank	Name	Acceptance Rate	SAT Score	Graduation Rate	Population	Student-Faculty Ratio
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA	4.55%	1,560	96%	11,920	3:1
2	Harvard University Cambridge, MA	3.65%	1,550	98%	30,386	7:1
3	Stanford University Stanford, CA	3.61%	1,550	92%	18,446	6:1
4	California Institute of Technology Pasadena, CA	2.57%	-	94%	2,463	3:1
5	Princeton University Princeton, NJ	4.62%	1,550	98%	8,922	5:1
6	Yale University New Haven, CT	3.87%	1,540	96%	15,081	6:1
7	Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY	3.99%	1,550	96%	35,279	6:1
8	University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia, PA	5.40%	1,550	97%	28,711	8:1
9	University of Chicago Chicago, IL	4.48%	1,550	96%	18,339	5:1
10	Dartmouth College Hanover, NH	5.40%	1,540	96%	6,746	7:1
11	Duke University Durham, NC	5.71%	1,540	97%	17,112	6:1
12	Brown University Providence, RI	5.39%	1,540	96%	11,516	6:1
13	Northwestern University Evanston, IL	7.69%	1,540	95%	23,203	6:1
14	Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN	5.86%	1,540	94%	13,456	7:1
15	Rice University Houston, TX	8.00%	1,550	95%	8,556	6:1
16	Georgetown University Washington, DC	12.91%	1,490	95%	20,392	11:1
17	Cornell University Ithaca, NY	8.76%	1,540	95%	26,264	9:1
18	Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, MD	6.44%	1,550	94%	30,362	6:1
19	Carnegie Mellon University Pittsburgh, PA	11.66%	1,540	94%	15,596	5:1
20	University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN	11.27%	1,520	95%	13,174	9:1
21	Washington University in St Louis Saint Louis, MO	12.06%	1,540	94%	16,500	7:1
22	New York University New York, NY	9.23%	1,520	88%	57,335	8:1
23	Tufts University Medford, MA	11.49%	1,510	94%	13,274	10:1
24	Northeastern University Boston, MA	5.22%	1,490	91%	31,159	16:1
25	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	9.81%	1,500	92%	47,147	9:1
26	Emory University Atlanta, GA	10.65%	1,520	91%	15,046	9:1
27	Boston University Boston, MA	11.11%	1,480	89%	36,624	10:1
28	Boston College Chestnut Hill, MA	16.43%	1,500	91%	15,280	13:1
29	Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA	13.98%	1,465	86%	13,078	8:1
30	University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA	10.98%	-	93%	45,699	18:1
	Average	7.89%	1,529	93.93%	647,066 (Total)	7.83:1

Top 50 National Universities 2025 Tuition Comparison and 2026 Estimated Costs

The following table lists and compares 2024-2025 tuition & fees between Top 50 National Universities. The 2024-2025 costs are officially published by NCES, National Center for Education Statistics.

The estimated costs for the academic year 2025-2026 are estimated based on each school's rate of tuition change from 2024 to 2025.

For the undergraduate programs, the average tuition & fees of Top 50 National Universities is $66,281 where University of Southern California has the most expensive costs at $71,647 and University of California-Berkeley has the lowest amount of tuition at $47,265.

The average graduate tuition & fees of Top 50 National Universities is $56,522 where University of Southern California has the highest tuition with $71,515 and Northeastern University has the lowest amount of graduate school tuition with $29,174.

UndergraduateGraduate Living Costs

Table. Top 50 National Universities 2025 Tuition Comparison and 2026 Estimation

Rank	School Name	2025 Tuition & Fees		2026 Estimated Tuition & Fees
		In-State	Out-of-State	In-State	Out-of-State
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$62,396		$64,719
2	Harvard University	$61,676		$64,390
3	Stanford University	$65,910		$69,524
4	California Institute of Technology	$65,898		$68,651
5	Princeton University	$62,688		$65,815
6	Yale University	$67,250		$69,901
7	Columbia University in the City of New York	$70,517		$72,944
8	University of Pennsylvania	$68,686		$71,369
9	University of Chicago	$69,324		$73,238
10	Dartmouth College	$68,019		$70,623
11	Duke University	$68,758		$71,844
12	Brown University	$71,312		$74,533
13	Northwestern University	$68,322		$70,729
14	Vanderbilt University	$67,498		$71,247
15	Rice University	$61,247		$64,533
16	Georgetown University	$68,089		$71,236
17	Cornell University	$69,314		$72,779
18	Johns Hopkins University	$64,730		$66,677
19	Carnegie Mellon University	$65,636		$68,086
20	University of Notre Dame	$65,025		$67,444
21	Washington University in St Louis	$65,790		$68,723
22	New York University	$62,796		$65,246
23	Tufts University	$70,704		$73,685
24	Northeastern University	$66,162		$69,328
25	University of Southern California	$71,647		$75,227
26	Emory University	$64,280		$67,988
27	Boston University	$68,102		$71,168
28	Boston College	$70,702		$73,859
29	Tulane University of Louisiana	$68,678		$71,968
30	University of California-Berkeley	$15,377	$47,265	$15,923	$48,962
	Average	$15,377	$66,281	$15,923	$69,215

Table. Top 50 National Universities 2025 Graduate School Tuition Comparison and 2026 Estimation

Rank	School Name	2025 Tuition & Fees		2026 Estimated Tuition & Fees
		In-State	Out-of-State	In-State	Out-of-State
1	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	$62,396		$61,415
2	Harvard University	$57,248		$59,115
3	Stanford University	$61,878		$64,352
4	California Institute of Technology	$65,706		$68,460
5	Princeton University	$65,936		$69,163
6	Yale University	$49,500		$50,730
7	Columbia University in the City of New York	$57,973		$59,718
8	University of Pennsylvania	$47,844		$49,725
9	University of Chicago	$68,652		$70,828
10	Dartmouth College	$66,617		$69,267
11	Duke University	$66,523		$69,162
12	Brown University	$69,948		$73,019
13	Northwestern University	$54,655		$55,450
14	Vanderbilt University	$57,868		$59,662
15	Rice University	$57,030		$59,719
16	Georgetown University	$61,670		$64,128
17	Cornell University	$30,160		$30,235
18	Johns Hopkins University	$64,730		$63,527
19	Carnegie Mellon University	$50,975		$52,547
20	University of Notre Dame	$64,826		$67,236
21	Washington University in St Louis	$65,146		$68,050
22	New York University	$42,726		$44,390
23	Tufts University	$50,798		$52,155
24	Northeastern University	$29,174		$30,289
25	University of Southern California	$71,515		$75,070
26	Emory University	$48,750		$49,800
27	Boston University	$67,626		$70,671
28	Boston College	$37,520		$39,213
29	Tulane University of Louisiana	$69,310		$72,735
30	University of California-Berkeley	$15,866	$30,968	$15,866	$16,495
	Average	$15,866	$56,522	$16,495	$58,381