Estimated read time: 6-7 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
SALT LAKE CITY — It's no secret that the cost of a college education has been on the rise for decades. Making matters worse is the always-increasing national student debt, which is set to reach an all-time high this year. Factor in a recent decline in median household income, and paying for a quality college experience starts to feel like an impossible task.
Despite the dire circumstances, there are still viable, affordable options in today's college landscape. Using data from the [National Center for Education Statistics](https://nces.ed.gov/), [StartClass](http://www.startclass.com/) found the 25 least expensive quality universities. Only colleges with an out-of-state tuition of $25,000 or less were included. Schools are ranked according to their [Smart Rating](http://colleges.startclass.com/) score, which is based on financial affordability, career readiness, admissions selectivity, expert opinion and academic excellence. The maximum score a college can have is 100.Nine colleges in New York made the cut, including Stony Brook University and the University at Buffalo, though none of the nine landed in the top spot. All schools on the list had a Smart Rating of 92 or higher.
Note: Both Berea College and the College of the Ozarks were excluded from the list, since neither school charges tuition. We also excluded the United States Coast Guard from consideration, since the school often reports no dollar amount for its annual tuition. In the event of ties, the school with the lowest out-of-state tuition was ranked higher.
No. 15. University at Buffalo
**Smart Rating:** 93.01 *Out-of-state tuition:* $22,290 *In-state tuition:* $8,870 *Acceptance rate:* 57.8 percent *Average SAT score:* 1725No. 14. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
**Smart Rating:** 93.05 *Out-of-state tuition:* $18,184 *In-state tuition:* $6,256 *Acceptance rate:* 36.4 percent *Average SAT score:* 1822No. 13. Thomas Aquinas College
**Smart Rating:** 93.07 *Out-of-state tuition:* $24,500 *In-state tuition:* $24,500 *Acceptance rate:* 82.7 percent *Average SAT score:* 1905No. 12. James Madison University
**Smart Rating:** 93.08 *Out-of-state tuition:* $24,522 *In-state tuition:* $9,662 *Acceptance rate:* 65.7 percent *Average SAT score:* 1710No. 11. SUNY College at Geneseo
**Smart Rating:** 93.11 *Out-of-state tuition:* $17,424 *In-state tuition:* $7,774 *Acceptance rate:* 59.1 percent *Average SAT score:* 1830No. 10. CUNY Bernard M. Baruch College
**Smart Rating:** 93.19 *Out-of-state tuition:* $13,371 *In-state tuition:* $6,561 *Acceptance rate:* 27.9 percent *Average SAT score:* 1852No. 9. University of North Carolina School of the Arts
**Smart Rating:** 93.2 *Out-of-state tuition:* $23,733 *In-state tuition:* $8.363 *Acceptance rate:* 43.2 percent *Average SAT score:* 1675No. 8. Stony Brook University
**Smart Rating:** 93.21 *Out-of-state tuition:* $21,850 *In-state tuition:* $8,430 *Acceptance rate:* 41.3 percent *Average SAT score:* 1845No. 7. SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
**Smart Rating:** 93.21 *Out-of-state tuition:* $17,048 *In-state tuition:* $7,398 *Acceptance rate:* 51.1 percent *Average SAT score:* 1777No. 6. California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo
**Smart Rating:** 93.28 *Out-of-state tuition:* $20,078 *In-state tuition:* $8,918 *Acceptance rate:* 30.9 percent *Average SAT score:* 1837No. 5. North Carolina State University at Raleigh
**Smart Rating:** 96.4 *Out-of-state tuition:* $23,551 *In-state tuition:* $8,296 *Acceptance rate:* 51.6 percent *Average SAT score:* 1830No. 4. Florida State University
**Smart Rating:** 96.4 *Out-of-state tuition:* $21,673 *In-state tuition:* $6,507 *Acceptance rate:* 55.4 percent *Average SAT score:* 1805No. 3. Brigham Young University-Provo
**Smart Rating:** 96.96 *Out-of-state tuition:* $5,000 *In-state tuition:* $5,000 *Acceptance rate:* 47 percent *Average SAT score:* 1890No. 2. SUNY at Binghamton
**Smart Rating:** 96.99 *Out-of-state tuition:* $20,260 *In-state tuition:* $8,620 *Acceptance rate:* 44.1 percent *Average SAT score:* 1915No. 1. University of Minnesota-Twin Cities
**Smart Rating:** 97.01 *Out-of-state tuition:* $20,810 *In-state tuition:* $13,560 *Acceptance rate:* 45.4 percent *Average SAT score:* 1935Learn More About Colleges at StartClass