Universities in Pennsylvania
9 indexed campuses in Northeast, 150,360 students in total. Ranked by the Campus Atlas quality index; tuition shown as the in-state / out-of-state band.
Top 10 by quality index
| # | Institution | City | Control | Students | Admitted | Tuition | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Penn | Philadelphia, PA | private | 28,000 | 5.4% | $61,500 | 93 |
| 2 | Swarthmore | Swarthmore, PA | private | 1,700 | — | $59,000 | 84 |
| 3 | CMU | Pittsburgh, PA | private | 15,500 | 11.7% | $61,000 | 82 |
| 4 | Curtis | Philadelphia, PA | private | 160 | — | $0 | 78 |
| 5 | Villanova | Villanova, PA | private | 11,000 | 30% | $57,000 | 68 |
| 6 | Lehigh | Bethlehem, PA | private | 5,500 | 29% | $56,000 | 66 |
| 7 | Penn State | University Park, PA | public | 41,000 | 54% | $16,000 / $25,000 | 62 |
| 8 | Drexel | Philadelphia, PA | private | 15,500 | 78% | $58,000 | 62 |
| 9 | Pitt | Pittsburgh, PA | public | 32,000 | 50% | $13,000 / $26,000 | 58 |
Largest campuses
Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA · public · 41k students
Massive public system with a land-grant core in engineering, earth sciences, meteorology and business.
University of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA · public · 32k students
Health-sciences heavyweight with a top nursing school, biomedical research and a storied computing tradition nearby.
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA · private · 28k students
Wharton anchors a research university that mixes business, medicine, law and engineering on one walkable West Philadelphia campus.
Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, PA · private · 16k students
The original computer-science school: artificial intelligence, robotics and human-computer interaction research decades ahead of the boom.
Drexel University
Philadelphia, PA · private · 16k students
Large co-op program across engineering, business, nursing and computing.
Villanova University
Villanova, PA · private · 11k students
Augustinian university with business, engineering, law and nursing.
City clusters
- Philadelphia3 campuses · 44k students
- Pittsburgh2 campuses · 48k students
- University Park1 campus · 41k students
- Villanova1 campus · 11k students
- Bethlehem1 campus · 5.5k students
- Swarthmore1 campus · 1.7k students
Guides about Pennsylvania
Enrolment, tuition and acceptance figures are rounded planning values compiled in 2025/26 for orientation. Verify exact numbers with each university's official fact sheet before you apply.