6. Harvard University

Forbes: The Top 10 Colleges of 2012

State: Massachusetts
Cost: $56,000
Total Student Population: 27,392

(Courtesy of Harvard University/Rose Lincoln)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.

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The Top 10 Colle... College is outrageously expensive. Four years at an elite, private school like the University of Chicago (#4) or Stanford (#3) costs more than a quarter of a million dollars. A degree from a more affordable state school, like the College of William & Mary (#40) or the University of California, Berkeley (#50), still costs around $100,000, even for “in-state” students, who pay less in tuition.

Is it worth it? For many students, the answer is probably not –unless they are accomplished enough to be accepted by one of the schools ranked near the top of Forbes' annual list of America’s 650 Top Colleges. (Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News Service)

The rankings are based on five general categories: post graduate success (32.5%), which evaluates alumni pay and prominence, student satisfaction (27.5%), which includes professor evaluations and freshman to sophomore year retention rates, debt (17.5%), which penalizes schools for high student debt loads and default rates, four-year graduation rate (11.25%) and competitive awards (11.25%), which rewards schools whose students win prestigious scholarships and fellowships like the Rhodes, the Marshall and the Fulbright or go on to earn a Ph.D.

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
10. Swarthmore C... State: Pennsylvania
Cost: $55,895
Total Student Population: 1,545

(Courtesy of Swarthmore College)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
9. Pomona Colleg... State: California
Cost: $55,319
Total Student Population: 1,586

(Courtesy of Pomona College)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
8. Columbia Univ... State: New York
Cost: $59,208
Total Student Population: 26,050

(Getty Images)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
7. United States... State: New York
Cost: N/A
Total Student Population: 4,624

(Courtesy of United States Military Academy)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
6. Harvard Unive... State: Massachusetts
Cost: $56,000
Total Student Population: 27,392

(Courtesy of Harvard University/Rose Lincoln)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
5. Yale Universi... State: Connecticut
Cost: $58,250
Total Student Population: 11,875

(Courtesy of Yale University)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
4. University of... State: Illinois
Cost: $59,950
Total Student Population: 14,979

(Charles Cook/Lonely Planet Images/Newscom)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
3. Stanford Univ... State: California
Cost: $57,755
Total Student Population: 19,945

(Linda A. Cicero/Stanford News Service)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
2. Williams Coll... State: Massachusetts
Cost: $57,141
Total Student Population: 2,126

(Courtesy of Williams College)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
1. Princeton Uni... State: New Jersey
Cost: $53,934
Total Student Population: 7,813

(Courtesy of Princeton University)

More From Forbes:
America’s Top 100 Colleges, 2012
Top 20 Best Value Colleges
America’s Most Entrepreneurial Colleges

The opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Comcast.
See the Full Lis... Click here to see the full gallery of this year's top colleges.