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Rankings / By State

Best Biology Colleges in Pennsylvania

By David Krug, Co-Founder, CollegeRanker · Updated 2026-05-31 · 50 schools · Agent Insights
50
Schools Analyzed
$67,399
Avg. Earnings (10yr)
69%
Avg. Graduation Rate
$26,038
Avg. Net Price

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This ranking scores 50 institutions on graduation rates, graduate earnings, debt burdens, and social mobility data from Opportunity Insights. Every data point comes from federal sources. No surveys, no opinions.

Social mobility carries the heaviest weight in our algorithm. We use Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card — built on 30 million anonymized tax records — to measure whether a college changes a family's economic trajectory across generations. Schools that take low-income students and launch them into higher earnings rank higher than schools that admit wealthy students and take credit for their success.

The transparency penalty matters here. Schools that don't report their data get scored lower than schools that do. If an institution won't show you its numbers, we think you should know that before you write them a tuition check.

Quick Numbers

Schools ranked 50
Avg. earnings at 10yr $67,399
Avg. graduation rate 69%
Avg. net price $26,038
Avg. median debt $24,643

How We Ranked

Biology programs in Pennsylvania ranked by outcomes and program concentration

Read our full methodology →

Earnings vs. Cost

Each dot is a ranked school. Up = higher earnings. Right = higher cost. Top-left is the best value.

$15K$68K$120K$0$50KNET PRICEUniversity ofHaverford CollegeSwarthmore CollegeLafayette CollegeUrsinus College

Graduation Rates

Longer bars = higher graduation rate.

University of Pennsylvan…97%Haverford College90%Swarthmore College93%Lafayette College88%Ursinus College75%Carnegie Mellon Universi…93%Bryn Mawr College84%Franklin and Marshall Co…85%Bucknell University86%Gettysburg College83%Lehigh University89%Dickinson College82%Allegheny College70%Muhlenberg College81%Juniata College71%Villanova University92%Chatham University65%Carlow University58%Lycoming College60%University of Scranton80%

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Full Rankings

#1

University of Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA · 10,650 students · Private nonprofit

5% accepted 97% graduate $111,371 earnings
University's full profile
#2

Haverford College

Haverford, PA · 1,430 students · Private nonprofit

12% accepted 90% graduate $79,966 earnings
Haverford's full profile
#3

Swarthmore College

Swarthmore, PA · 1,613 students · Private nonprofit

7% accepted 93% graduate $80,257 earnings
Swarthmore's full profile
#4

Lafayette College

Easton, PA · 2,757 students · Private nonprofit

31% accepted 88% graduate $91,410 earnings
Lafayette's full profile
#5

Ursinus College

Collegeville, PA · 1,491 students · Private nonprofit

92% accepted 75% graduate $73,721 earnings
Ursinus's full profile
#6

Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA · 7,304 students · Private nonprofit

12% accepted 93% graduate $114,862 earnings
Carnegie's full profile
#7

Bryn Mawr College

Bryn Mawr, PA · 1,359 students · Private nonprofit

29% accepted 84% graduate $75,217 earnings
Bryn's full profile
#8

Franklin and Marshall College

Lancaster, PA · 1,799 students · Private nonprofit

28% accepted 85% graduate $76,124 earnings
Franklin's full profile
#9

Bucknell University

Lewisburg, PA · 3,876 students · Private nonprofit

29% accepted 86% graduate $93,807 earnings
Bucknell's full profile
#10

Gettysburg College

Gettysburg, PA · 2,099 students · Private nonprofit

39% accepted 83% graduate $71,517 earnings
Gettysburg's full profile
#11

Lehigh University

Bethlehem, PA · 5,898 students · Private nonprofit

26% accepted 89% graduate $105,584 earnings
Lehigh's full profile
#12

Dickinson College

Carlisle, PA · 2,273 students · Private nonprofit

42% accepted 82% graduate $70,204 earnings
Dickinson's full profile
#13

Allegheny College

Meadville, PA · 1,156 students · Private nonprofit

55% accepted 70% graduate $62,069 earnings
Allegheny's full profile
#14

Muhlenberg College

Allentown, PA · 1,727 students · Private nonprofit

72% accepted 81% graduate $69,107 earnings
Muhlenberg's full profile
#15

Juniata College

Huntingdon, PA · 1,191 students · Private nonprofit

79% accepted 71% graduate $56,918 earnings
Juniata's full profile
#16

Villanova University

Villanova, PA · 6,938 students · Private nonprofit

27% accepted 92% graduate $100,423 earnings
Villanova's full profile
#17

Chatham University

Pittsburgh, PA · 1,232 students · Private nonprofit

62% accepted 65% graduate $52,410 earnings
Chatham's full profile
#18

Carlow University

Pittsburgh, PA · 1,348 students · Private nonprofit

87% accepted 58% graduate $51,051 earnings
Carlow's full profile
#19

Lycoming College

Williamsport, PA · 996 students · Private nonprofit

74% accepted 60% graduate $56,210 earnings
Lycoming's full profile
#20

University of Scranton

Scranton, PA · 3,554 students · Private nonprofit

81% accepted 80% graduate $74,652 earnings
University's full profile
#21

Washington & Jefferson College

Washington, PA · 1,295 students · Private nonprofit

81% accepted 70% graduate $67,918 earnings
Washington's full profile
#22

Arcadia University

Glenside, PA · 1,948 students · Private nonprofit

80% accepted 65% graduate $58,336 earnings
Arcadia's full profile
#23

Susquehanna University

Selinsgrove, PA · 2,163 students · Private nonprofit

81% accepted 78% graduate $61,723 earnings
Susquehanna's full profile
#24

Elizabethtown College

Elizabethtown, PA · 1,868 students · Private nonprofit

78% accepted 77% graduate $62,399 earnings
Elizabethtown's full profile
#25

East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania

East Stroudsburg, PA · 4,814 students · Public

92% accepted 44% graduate $56,148 earnings
East's full profile
#26

West Chester University of Pennsylvania

West Chester, PA · 14,164 students · Public

78% accepted 70% graduate $61,258 earnings
West's full profile
#27

Holy Family University

Philadelphia, PA · 2,464 students · Private nonprofit

71% accepted 61% graduate $62,235 earnings
Holy's full profile
#28

Millersville University of Pennsylvania

Millersville, PA · 5,728 students · Public

86% accepted 56% graduate $55,246 earnings
Millersville's full profile
#29

Moravian University

Bethlehem, PA · 1,949 students · Private nonprofit

54% accepted 71% graduate $61,860 earnings
Moravian's full profile
#30

Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia

Philadelphia, PA · 4,948 students · Private nonprofit

89% accepted 79% graduate $86,881 earnings
Saint's full profile
#31

Seton Hill University

Greensburg, PA · 1,492 students · Private nonprofit

80% accepted 69% graduate $51,748 earnings
Seton's full profile
#32

Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania

Shippensburg, PA · 4,086 students · Public

87% accepted 54% graduate $56,351 earnings
Shippensburg's full profile
#33

Westminster College

New Wilmington, PA · 1,041 students · Private nonprofit

93% accepted 65% graduate $53,861 earnings
Westminster's full profile
#34

Pennsylvania State University-Penn State Greater Allegheny

McKeesport, PA · 349 students · Public

96% accepted 23% graduate $63,435 earnings
Pennsylvania's full profile
#35

King's College

Wilkes-Barre, PA · 1,484 students · Private nonprofit

93% accepted 60% graduate $59,498 earnings
King's's full profile
#36

University of Pittsburgh-Greensburg

Greensburg, PA · 1,305 students · Public

95% accepted 40% graduate $66,125 earnings
University's full profile
#37

Gannon University

Erie, PA · 2,365 students · Private nonprofit

74% accepted 68% graduate $58,845 earnings
Gannon's full profile
#38

La Salle University

Philadelphia, PA · 1,953 students · Private nonprofit

97% accepted 58% graduate $67,416 earnings
La's full profile
#39

Indiana University of Pennsylvania-Main Campus

Indiana, PA · 6,764 students · Public

91% accepted 54% graduate $51,019 earnings
Indiana's full profile
#40

Kutztown University of Pennsylvania

Kutztown, PA · 6,180 students · Public

91% accepted 54% graduate $53,775 earnings
Kutztown's full profile
#41

Widener University

Chester, PA · 2,951 students · Private nonprofit

71% accepted 66% graduate $70,920 earnings
Widener's full profile
#42

Marywood University

Scranton, PA · 1,784 students · Private nonprofit

61% accepted 72% graduate $55,817 earnings
Marywood's full profile
#43

Albright College

Reading, PA · 1,217 students · Private nonprofit

76% accepted 47% graduate $58,700 earnings
Albright's full profile
#44

Wilkes University

Wilkes-Barre, PA · 1,985 students · Private nonprofit

91% accepted 62% graduate $63,454 earnings
Wilkes's full profile
#45

Lebanon Valley College

Annville, PA · 1,684 students · Private nonprofit

84% accepted 69% graduate $62,621 earnings
Lebanon's full profile
#46

Messiah University

Mechanicsburg, PA · 2,259 students · Private nonprofit

79% accepted 77% graduate $54,064 earnings
Messiah's full profile
#47

Temple University

Philadelphia, PA · 20,970 students · Public

80% accepted 75% graduate $63,727 earnings
Temple's full profile
#48

Waynesburg University

Waynesburg, PA · 1,009 students · Private nonprofit

90% accepted 63% graduate $58,537 earnings
Waynesburg's full profile
#49

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Cheyney, PA · 617 students · Public

24% graduate $37,837 earnings
Cheyney's full profile
#50

DeSales University

Center Valley, PA · 2,128 students · Private nonprofit

77% accepted 72% graduate $61,295 earnings
DeSales's full profile

Sources & Citations

[1]

U.S. Department of Education. College Scorecard Data. Federal Student Aid, National Center for Education Statistics.

[2]

National Center for Education Statistics. Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

DK

David Krug

Co-Founder, CollegeRanker

David Krug is the co-founder of CollegeRanker and a data systems architect focused on making institutional research accessible to families. He builds the data pipelines and ranking algorithms that power CollegeRanker, drawing from federal datasets and Raj Chetty's Opportunity Insights research to measure what traditional rankings ignore: whether a college actually changes a family's economic trajectory.