2026 Best Research Universities in Pennsylvania

Name: 2026 Best Research Universities in Pennsylvania (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

23 Pennsylvania schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Research Universities ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–23 of 23 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

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268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

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#1 Best Research Universities

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

Acceptance rate

5.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$54,652

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#2 Best Research Universities

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh

Acceptance rate

11.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$57,560

Avg. Cost after Aid

$37,000

#3 Best Research Universities

Villanova University

Villanova

Acceptance rate

25.1%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$58,290

Avg. Cost after Aid

$33,000

#4 Best Research Universities

Lehigh University

Bethlehem

Acceptance rate

29.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$56,980

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,000

#5 Best Research Universities

University of Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh

Acceptance rate

49.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$19,092

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#6 Best Research Universities

Penn State University Park

University Park

Acceptance rate

54.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$18,368

Avg. Cost after Aid

$32,638

#7 Best Research Universities

Drexel University

Philadelphia

Acceptance rate

77.5%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$54,766

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#8 Best Research Universities

Duquesne University

Pittsburgh

Acceptance rate

78.8%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$43,526

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,000

#9 Best Research Universities

Temple University

Philadelphia

Acceptance rate

82.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$16,488

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#10 Best Research Universities

Thomas Jefferson University-East Falls Campus

Philadelphia

Acceptance rate

86.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$41,900

Avg. Cost after Aid

$37,945

#11 Best Research Universities

Immaculata University

Immaculata

Acceptance rate

78.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$26,900

Avg. Cost after Aid

$29,000

#12 Best Research Universities

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

West Chester

Acceptance rate

79.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$7,716

Avg. Cost after Aid

$14,000

#13 Best Research Universities

DeSales University

Center Valley

Acceptance rate

78.6%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$39,500

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,000

#14 Best Research Universities

Misericordia University

Dallas

Acceptance rate

84.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$34,100

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#15 Best Research Universities

Widener University

Chester

Acceptance rate

84.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$48,724

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#16 Best Research Universities

Robert Morris University

Moon Township

Acceptance rate

90.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$31,450

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#17 Best Research Universities

Gannon University

Erie

Acceptance rate

76.7%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$34,575

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#18 Best Research Universities

Chatham University

Pittsburgh

Acceptance rate

70.1%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$39,443

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#19 Best Research Universities

Gwynedd Mercy University

Gwynedd Valley

Acceptance rate

93.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$36,192

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#20 Best Research Universities

Alvernia University

Reading

Acceptance rate

62.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$37,780

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

#21 Best Research Universities

Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre

Acceptance rate

91.5%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$37,994

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#22 Best Research Universities

La Salle University

Philadelphia

Acceptance rate

86.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$32,000

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#23 Best Research Universities

Point Park University

Pittsburgh

Acceptance rate

97.9%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,870

Avg. Cost after Aid

$25,000

2026 Best Research Universities in Pennsylvania

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