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Due to scholarships, loans, grants, and other forms of financial aid, different students pay vastly different tuition depending on the school, their financial situation, and their previous academic performance. So The Daily Beast determined which schools are the most affordable by using a simple metric. We compared schools based on the average net price students paid after need-based aid; this accounted for 80 percent of the final ranking. The rest was determined by the percentage of students who graduate within six years.
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Atlanta, Georgia
6-Year Grad Rate: 78.9%
Average Net Price: $8,445
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.3%
Average Debt of Graduates: $23,427
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 50%
Ethan Trewhitt
Athens, Georgia
6-Year Grad Rate: 82.4%
Average Net Price: $9,693
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.5%
Average Debt of Graduates: $18,569
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 46%
Scott Cunningham/Getty
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
6-Year Grad Rate: 89%
Average Net Price: $11,028
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.6%
Average Debt of Graduates: $17,525
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 37%
Lance King/Replay Photos via Getty
Charlottesville, Virginia
6-Year Grad Rate: 93.9%
Average Net Price: $11,590
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2.9%
Average Debt of Graduates: $20,951
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 35%
Lance King/Replay Photos via Getty
Gainesville, Florida
6-Year Grad Rate: 83.7%
Average Net Price: $11,579
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.8%
Average Debt of Graduates: $16,841
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 39%
Sam Greenwood/Getty
Williamsburg, Virginia
6-Year Grad Rate: 90.7%
Average Net Price: $12,660
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.1%
Average Debt of Graduates: $21,267
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 38%
Peter Aaron/PRNewsFoto/The Mason School of Business at The College of William and Mary/AP
La Jolla, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 85.3%
Average Net Price: $12,621
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.8%
Average Debt of Graduates: $19,936
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 50%
Barry Winiker/Getty
East Lansing, Michigan
6-Year Grad Rate: 77.3%
Average Net Price: $12,366
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 5.9%
Average Debt of Graduates: $23,725
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 45%
Al Goldis/AP
Harrisonburg, Virginia
6-Year Grad Rate: 81.4%
Average Net Price: $12,875
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 2.9%
Average Debt of Graduates: $22,128
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 52%
Steve Helber/AP
Irvine, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 84.64%
Average Net Price: $13,217
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.5%
Average Debt of Graduates: $18,719
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 49
Tony Avelar/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty
Newark, Delaware
6-Year Grad Rate: 78.4%
Average Net Price: $13,376
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 4.3%
Average Debt of Graduates: $31,002
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 58%
RDECOM/Flickr
College Park, Maryland
6-Year Grad Rate: 81.8%
Average Net Price: $13,625
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 4.2%
Average Debt of Graduates: $24,180
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 44%
Richard T. Nowitz/Corbis
Davis, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 81.7%
Average Net Price: $14,072
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 4.1%
Average Debt of Graduates: $18,386
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 52%
Billy Hustace/Corbis
Los Angeles, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 90%
Average Net Price: $14474
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.1%
Average Debt of Graduates: $18814
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 44%
Renault Philippe/Hemis/Corbis
Austin, Texas
6-Year Grad Rate: 80.9%
Average Net Price: $14,629
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 5.5%
Average Debt of Graduates: $25,227
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 49%
Ronald Martinez/Getty
Madison, Wisconsin
6-Year Grad Rate: 82%
Average Net Price: $14,940
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 1.6%
Average Debt of Graduates: $24,140
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 48%
Jonathan Daniel/Getty
Santa Barbara, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 79.8%
Average Net Price: $14,890
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 4.3%
Average Debt of Graduates: $18,627
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 49%
Courtesy of UCSB
Geneseo, New York
6-Year Grad Rate: 80.9%
Average Net Price: $15,029
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3%
Average Debt of Graduates: $21,000
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 67%
Keith Walters
Berkeley, California
6-Year Grad Rate: 90.5%
Average Net Price: $15,589
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3. 8%
Average Debt of Graduates: $17,116
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 42%
Paul Sakuma/AP
Champaign, Illinois
6-Year Grad Rate: 82.5%
Average Net Price: $15,610
3-Year Credit Default Rate: 3.4%
Average Debt of Graduates: $22,975
Percent of Graduates with Debt: 52%
Joe Robbins/Getty