| 2003 Rank | School | State | Enrollment | Admission Rate | Student/Faculty Ratio | 4-year Grad. Rate | 6-year Grad. Rate | In-State Total Costs | Out-of-State Total Costs |
| 39 | Appalachian State University | NC | 12,852 | 64% | 19 | 31% | 60% | $7,913 | $16,834 |
| 31 | Auburn University | AL | 19,603 | 83% | 16 | 40% | 68% | $10,276 | $18,736 |
| 22 | California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo | CA | 17,401 | 39% | 19 | 17% | 66% | $11,781 | $15,268 |
| 24 | Clemson University | SC | 13,734 | 52% | 16 | 35% | 69% | $14,618 | $22,216 |
| 71 | College of Charleston | SC | 10,044 | 60% | 14 | 32% | 52% | $14,008 | $21,270 |
| 5 | College of New Jersey | NJ | 5,961 | 48% | 12 | 59% | 80% | $16,686 | $21,261 |
| 16 | College of William and Mary | VA | 5,694 | 35% | 12 | 80% | 89% | $13,024 | $27,724 |
| 72 | Colorado School of Mines | CO | 2,504 | 67% | 12 | 31% | 61% | $13,780 | $26,970 |
| 67 | Colorado State University | CO | 21,677 | 77% | 17 | 29% | 62% | $10,689 | $21,161 |
| 87 | Florida State University | FL | 29,195 | 70% | 22 | 38% | 64% | $10,994 | $22,022 |
| 88 | George Mason University | VA | 16,687 | 66% | 16 | 25% | 48% | $11,602 | $21,442 |
| 25 | Georgia Institute of Technology | GA | 11,456 | 59% | 14 | 18% | 69% | $11,340 | $23,266 |
| 42 | Illinois State University | IL | 18,353 | 81% | 19 | 28% | 55% | $12,971 | $17,441 |
| 96 | https://www.indiana.edu/ | IN | 30,752 | 81% | 20 | 40% | 65% | $13,129 | $24,164 |
| 53 | Iowa State University of Science and Technology | IA | 22,999 | 89% | 16 | 24% | 62% | $11,588 | $20,930 |
| 47 | James Madison University | VA | 14,828 | 58% | 17 | 59% | 78% | $13,145 | $21,367 |
| 59 | Kansas State University | KS | 19,048 | 58% | 20 | 18% | 45% | $9,626 | $16,990 |
| 32 | Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College | LA | 26,660 | 77% | 21 | 23% | 58% | $10,126 | $15,426 |
| 41 | Mary Washington College | VA | 4,275 | 60% | 17 | 65% | 75% | $12,287 | $20,035 |
| 73 | Miami University | OH | 15,384 | 77% | 17 | 61% | 80% | $15,833 | $25,603 |
| 52 | Michigan State University | MI | 35,197 | 67% | 18 | 31% | 66% | $12,743 | $22,703 |
| 80 | Michigan Technological University | MI | 5,915 | 92% | 11 | 22% | 63% | $14,135 | $25,025 |
| 29 | Mississippi State University | MS | 13,373 | 74% | 16 | 19% | 48% | $11,130 | $16,036 |
| 61 | Mississippi University for Women | MS | 2,166 | 65% | 13 | 21% | 43% | $8,649 | $13,316 |
| 30 | New College of Florida | FL | 650 | 65% | 11 | 47% | 72% | $10,947 | $24,185 |
| 17 | New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology | NM | 1,336 | 63% | 13 | 12% | 40% | $9,714 | $16,151 |
| 44 | North Carolina State University | NC | 22,780 | 59% | 15 | 25% | 60% | $10,688 | $22,536 |
| 75 | Ohio State University | OH | 36,855 | 74% | 14 | 25% | 59% | $15,249 | $25,113 |
| 98 | Ohio University | OH | 17,343 | 75% | 20 | 43% | 70% | $16,514 | $24,737 |
| 34 | Oklahoma State University | OK | 18,043 | 92% | 19 | 22% | 56% | $10,677 | $16,623 |
| 82 | Pennsylvania State University University Park Campus | PA | 34,829 | 57% | 17 | 43% | 80% | $17,017 | $26,639 |
| 83 | Purdue University | IN | 30,908 | 76% | 16 | 28% | 64% | $14,691 | $26,311 |
| 66 | Rowan University | NJ | 8,324 | 44% | 14 | 37% | 63% | $15,416 | $20,812 |
| 56 | Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Camden | NJ | 3,800 | 54% | 11 | 21% | 60% | $16,189 | $22,703 |
| 14 | Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick | NJ | 28,070 | 55% | 14 | 44% | 72% | $16,519 | $23,033 |
| 55 | Salisbury University | MD | 6,206 | 50% | 17 | 50% | 68% | $12,895 | $19,783 |
| 37 | St. Mary's College of Maryland | MD | 1,823 | 59% | 12 | 58% | 67% | $16,908 | $23,228 |
| 49 | State University of New York at Albany | NY | 11,953 | 56% | 21 | 52% | 66% | $13,574 | $19,524 |
| 4 | State University of New York at Binghamton | NY | 10,328 | 42% | 19 | 69% | 80% | $13,587 | $19,537 |
| 65 | State University of New York at New Paltz | NY | 6,187 | 40% | 17 | 21% | 52% | $11,276 | $16,176 |
| 64 | State University of New York College at Fredonia | NY | 4,900 | 53% | 18 | 47% | 66% | $11,782 | $17,732 |
| 7 | State University of New York College at Geneseo | NY | 5,387 | 49% | 19 | 67% | 79% | $12,840 | $18,790 |
| 57 | Stony Brook University, State University of New York | NY | 14,224 | 54% | 18 | 30% | 51% | $13,645 | $19,595 |
| 17 | Texas A&M University | TX | 36,775 | 68% | 21 | 27% | 69% | $11,899 | $18,979 |
| 86 | Texas Tech University | TX | 22,768 | 69% | 20 | 22% | 51% | $12,968 | $20,048 |
| 78 | Towson University | MD | 14,296 | 58% | 19 | 30% | 56% | $12,776 | $20,422 |
| 2 | Truman State University | MO | 5,636 | 79% | 15 | 39% | 62% | $10,609 | $14,409 |
| 94 | UC Riverside | CA | 14,124 | 86% | 19 | 39% | 64% | $16,751 | $24,530 |
| 33 | University at Buffalo, The State University of New York | NY | 17,054 | 61% | 14 | 32% | 56% | $13,422 | $19,372 |
| 48 | University of Alabama | AL | 15,441 | 85% | 18 | 31% | 61% | $11,197 | $18,357 |
| 85 | University of Arizona | AZ | 28,278 | 86% | 19 | 29% | 55% | $11,163 | $19,933 |
| 40 | University of Arkansas | AR | 12,889 | 86% | 17 | 20% | 45% | $10,706 | $17,456 |
| 9 | University of California, Berkeley | CA | 23,835 | 25% | 17 | 48% | 83% | $17,265 | $25,584 |
| 35 | University of California, Davis | CA | 22,661 | 63% | 19 | 28% | 75% | $16,521 | $23,814 |
| 36 | University of California, Irvine | CA | 19,179 | 57% | 18 | 34% | 72% | $15,635 | $22,450 |
| 28 | University of California, Los Angeles | CA | 24,899 | 24% | 17 | 40% | 81% | $17,616 | $26,006 |
| 11 | University of California, San Diego | CA | 19,087 | 41% | 19 | 43% | 78% | $16,000 | $24,105 |
| 60 | University of California, Santa Barbara | CA | 17,714 | 51% | 19 | 44% | 73% | $16,154 | $24,246 |
| 79 | University of California, Santa Cruz | CA | 12,881 | 80% | 19 | 40% | 64% | $16,877 | $24,250 |
| 93 | University of Central Florida | FL | 32,044 | 62% | 24 | 25% | 49% | $10,839 | $21,867 |
| 97 | University of Colorado at Boulder | CO | 25,158 | 80% | 16 | 38% | 64% | $11,937 | $28,253 |
| 89 | University of Connecticut | CT | 14,716 | 62% | 17 | 23% | 70% | $14,413 | $25,197 |
| 19 | University of Delaware | DE | 17,486 | 48% | 12 | 54% | 72% | $13,416 | $22,946 |
| 12 | University of Florida | FL | 34,031 | 58% | 21 | 49% | 77% | $10,611 | $21,639 |
| 6 | University of Georgia | GA | 24,983 | 65% | 13 | 46% | 66% | $10,534 | $21,310 |
| 99 | University of Illinois at Chicago | IL | 16,543 | 63% | 15 | 9% | 37% | $14,299 | $23,995 |
| 18 | University of Illinois at Urbana, Champaign | IL | 28,947 | 60% | 13 | 52% | 76% | $14,410 | $25,446 |
| 63 | University of Iowa | IA | 20,487 | 84% | 15 | 34% | 64% | $11,763 | $22,055 |
| 26 | University of Kansas | KS | 20,605 | 67% | 19 | 26% | 55% | $9,673 | $17,149 |
| 45 | University of Kentucky | KY | 17,830 | 82% | 17 | 27% | 58% | $9,432 | $16,112 |
| 90 | University of Maine | ME | 8,817 | 79% | 15 | 29% | 56% | $12,780 | $21,480 |
| 74 | University of Maryland, Baltimore County | MD | 9,549 | 63% | 17 | 28% | 53% | $16,516 | $23,368 |
| 15 | University of Maryland, College Park | MD | 25,179 | 43% | 13 | 33% | 63% | $16,304 | $22,881 |
| 77 | University of Massachusetts Amherst | MA | 18,606 | 58% | 19 | 41% | 61% | $14,480 | $23,333 |
| 24 | University of Michigan, Ann Arbor | MI | 24,472 | 49% | 15 | 61% | 82% | $16,671 | $33,473 |
| 10 | University of Minnesota, Morris | MN | 1,910 | 82% | 14 | 50% | 76% | $13,477 | $13,477 |
| 95 | University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus | MN | 32,457 | 74% | 15 | 17% | 53% | $13,910 | $25,540 |
| 46 | University of Mississippi | MS | 10,661 | 80% | 19 | 29% | 48% | $11,257 | $16,167 |
| 69 | University of Missouri, Columbia | MO | 19,698 | 88% | 18 | 32% | 65% | $13,208 | $22,655 |
| 92 | University of Missouri, Rolla | MO | 3,849 | 92% | 14 | 10% | 52% | $14,326 | $23,144 |
| 68 | University of Nebraska, Lincoln | NE | 18,118 | 90% | 19 | 15% | 51% | $10,687 | $18,269 |
| 91 | University of New Hampshire | NH | 11,496 | 77% | 14 | 48% | 71% | $15,779 | $26,139 |
| 38 | University of North Carolina at Asheville | NC | 3,351 | 67% | 14 | 31% | 48% | $8,929 | $17,754 |
| 1 | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | NC | 15,961 | 35% | 14 | 65% | 79% | $11,290 | $23,138 |
| 62 | University of North Carolina at Wilmington | NC | 9,803 | 55% | 16 | 34% | 60% | $9,715 | $19,290 |
| 54 | University of Northern Iowa | IA | 12,397 | 80% | 16 | 30% | 64% | $10,634 | $17,592 |
| 21 | University of Oklahoma | OK | 19,570 | 89% | 21 | 19% | 51% | $10,139 | $16,652 |
| 100 | University of Oregon | OR | 16,041 | 86% | 18 | 36% | 59% | $12,795 | $24,231 |
| 81 | University of Pittsburgh | PA | 17,910 | 55% | 17 | 35% | 60% | $17,025 | $26,337 |
| 76 | University of South Carolina | SC | 16,567 | 70% | 17 | 31% | 58% | $11,795 | $21,133 |
| 58 | University of Tennessee | TN | 19,956 | 58% | 18 | 24% | 56% | $11,681 | $20,763 |
| 3 | University of Texas at Austin | TX | 39,661 | 61% | 19 | 39% | 71% | $14,391 | $20,999 |
| 27 | University of Texas at Dallas | TX | 7,961 | 53% | 20 | 30% | 53% | $12,075 | $19,155 |
| 84 | University of Vermont | VT | 8,792 | 71% | 14 | 48% | 67% | $17,116 | $30,168 |
| 8 | University of Virginia | VA | 13,805 | 39% | 16 | 81% | 91% | $12,640 | $28,610 |
| 43 | University of Washington | WA | 28,362 | 68% | 11 | 40% | 70% | $13,835 | $24,991 |
| 51 | University of Wisconsin, La Crosse | WI | 8,158 | 65% | 21 | 23% | 58% | $10,425 | $20,102 |
| 50 | University of Wisconsin, Madison | WI | 29,708 | 71% | 14 | 41% | 77% | $13,391 | $27,401 |
| 70 | University of Wyoming | WY | 9,250 | 95% | 15 | 22% | 54% | $10,863 | $16,713 |
| 20 | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University | VA | 21,468 | 65% | 15 | 36% | 72% | $10,122 | $20,006 |
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