ST. LOUIS – Principia College, in Elsah, Illinois, has an enrollment of 322 students last year, and the small college sitting on the banks of the MIssissippi River has earned the title of best value for National Liberal Arts Colleges in America in the U.S. News & World Report’s Best College Rankings survey.

The recently released rankings also named Washington University in St. Louis as number 15 out of 443 national universities ranked. It is the only St. Louis-area school in the top 20 among national universities. 

The rankings list Washington University with an annual tuition and fees of $60,590. Principia College is listed to have tuition and fees of $32,130 a year. The Best Value rankings compare overall quality of the institution related to its price and any need-based aid or discounts given.

Here is where some other schools from Missouri and Illinois fell in the 2022-2023 rankings:

Principia College was the only national liberal arts school in the area to land on the rankings in this category. The ranking also says to make valid comparisons, it groups schools by academic missions into 10 distinct rankings. You can see how other local schools did by checking out the complete rankings here.