Private nonprofit institutions ranked on graduation rate, retention, and graduate earnings. Sticker prices run high here, but so does institutional aid — check net price, not tuition.
Includes private nonprofit 4-year institutions with complete outcome data. For-profit institutions are excluded. Ranked by score. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard. Schools that do not report the required fields are excluded rather than estimated — so absence from this list is not a judgment about the school.
| # | College | Score | Net Price | Grad Rate | Median Salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emory University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.825 | $22,585 | 91.1% | $80,137 |
| 2 | Spelman College Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.710 | $38,967 | 78.5% | $59,993 |
| 3 | Mercer University Macon, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.644 | $23,847 | 69.6% | $58,354 |
| 4 | Covenant College Lookout Mountain, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.639 | $26,265 | 71.5% | $50,412 |
| 5 | Agnes Scott College Decatur, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.638 | $24,754 | 70.7% | $56,274 |
| 6 | Berry College Mount Berry, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.631 | $22,320 | 69.5% | $53,800 |
| 7 | Savannah College of Art and Design Savannah, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.612 | $49,430 | 69.4% | $45,954 |
| 8 | Morehouse College Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.602 | $39,013 | 59.4% | $52,889 |
| 9 | Oglethorpe University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.557 | $19,509 | 54.1% | $55,232 |
| 10 | LaGrange College Lagrange, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.505 | $20,875 | 46.9% | $51,745 |
| 11 | Piedmont University Demorest, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.504 | $20,599 | 47.4% | $49,130 |
| 12 | Wesleyan College Macon, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.494 | $12,724 | 44.5% | $44,317 |
| 13 | Clark Atlanta University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.491 | $37,702 | 49.0% | $42,712 |
| 14 | Beulah Heights University Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.484 | — | 33.3% | $35,236 |
| 15 | Young Harris College Young Harris, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.465 | $22,034 | 41.8% | $47,195 |
| 16 | Reinhardt University Waleska, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.463 | $24,425 | 43.6% | $46,541 |
| 17 | Brenau University Gainesville, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.458 | $18,924 | 32.9% | $54,003 |
| 18 | Truett McConnell University Cleveland, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.455 | $22,227 | 37.8% | $46,700 |
| 19 | Emmanuel University Franklin Springs, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.453 | $20,925 | 42.3% | $38,208 |
| 20 | Life University Marietta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.448 | $29,791 | 37.9% | $47,397 |
| 21 | Point University West Point, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.434 | $25,335 | 34.1% | $38,740 |
| 22 | Shorter University Rome, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.432 | $16,646 | 37.7% | $44,604 |
| 23 | Toccoa Falls College Toccoa Falls, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.431 | $21,642 | 43.7% | $36,630 |
| 24 | Thomas University Thomasville, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.385 | $18,499 | 27.5% | $49,716 |
| 25 | Paine College Augusta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.296 | $16,670 | 14.4% | $33,338 |
| 26 | Herzing University-Atlanta Atlanta, GA · Private nonprofit |
0.234 | $21,679 | 14.0% | $36,909 |
Emory University leads this ranking at 0.825. Former students there report a median income of $80,137 ten years after entering. Average net price runs $22,585 per year. See the full Emory University profile →
No single metric identifies the right school for a given student. Earnings vary far more by major than by institution. Graduation rates partly reflect who a school admits, not only how well it teaches. Net price is an average across all income bands, and your actual offer may land well above or below it. Use this list to build a shortlist, then compare your real aid letters.
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