According to College Navigator, there are 12 public universities, 27 private non-profit colleges, and five private for-profit institutions.
College Board indicates that the average undergraduate student in Minnesota paid $12,410 in tuition and school fees at public colleges during the 2021-22 school year.
During the 2020-21 school year, full-time undergraduate students earned an average of $14,800 in financial aid.
This list features some of the best brick-and-mortar schools in Minnesota. Each school featured is a nonprofit, accredited institution — either public or private — with a high standard of academic quality for post-secondary institutions. We included liberal arts colleges and research universities as well as small, midsize, and large institutions. Next, we compared this comprehensive list to a list of aggregated college rankings from reputable publications like the U.S. News & World Report among others to simplify a student’s college search. We pored through these rankings so students don’t have to.
The colleges on our list are accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (HLC), a reputable organization that examines the objectives, quality, and overall effectiveness of education programs in the central United States.
We evaluated each school on tuition costs, admission, retention and graduation rates, faculty, and reputation as well as the student resources provided for on-campus students. Then we calculated the Intelligent Score on a scale of 0 to 100. Read more about our ranking methodology.
When determining the right state to attend college, you should also consider your options for pursuing a career in the same location. As of October 2021, the top industries for employment in Minnesota were education and health services; trade, transportation, and utilities; goods-producing; government; and professional and business services.
A fast-growing career might be just as important to you as finding work in your field. As of 2022, the fastest-growing careers in Minnesota for workers with a bachelor’s degree are information security analysts, logisticians, medical and health services managers, agents and talent managers, and data scientists.
In Minnesota, healthcare is among the top professions, but there are plenty of other options in the state for those with the right education. This is clear to see when reviewing the list of the largest employers in the state, which includes 3M, Ameriprise Financial, Andersen Corp, Best Buy, and Target.
Many students across the United States require financial aid. When searching for the right college in Minnesota, it’s important to understand what resources are available to you to help pay for your education. Below, we’ve listed some of the grants, scholarships, and financial aid programs that are available for undergraduate students in Minnesota.