Affordable Private Colleges in Rhode Island
Private nonprofit four-year colleges, ranked by net price after aid. Their sticker prices are the highest and their discounts are the deepest, so the published tuition tells you very little.
9 private colleges in Rhode Island are listed here, 9 of them reporting a net price. They run from $20,252 a year at Johnson & Wales University-Online to $50,507 at Rhode Island School of Design, with a middle of about $36,967.
The cheapest are Johnson & Wales University-Online, Brown University and Johnson & Wales University-Providence. A low average is not a low bill for everyone — aid depends on your family's income — but it is where to start.
Private colleges in Rhode Island, cheapest first · 9
Average net price per year after grants and scholarships, with the share of students on federal Pell grants where reported. Schools publishing no net price are listed last.
- Johnson & Wales University-Online
- Brown University
- Johnson & Wales University-Providence
- New England Institute of Technology
- Salve Regina University
- Roger Williams University
- Bryant University
- Providence College
- Rhode Island School of Design
← All colleges in Rhode Island
Questions families ask
- What is the most affordable private college in Rhode Island?
- By average net price — what students actually pay per year after grants and scholarships — it is Johnson & Wales University-Online at about $20,252 a year. That is an average across all students there; your own cost depends on your family's income, so check the school's net price calculator.
- What is the difference between sticker price and net price?
- Sticker price is the published tuition before any aid. Net price is what students actually pay after grants and scholarships are subtracted — not loans, which you pay back. Net price is usually far lower, and at expensive private colleges the gap can be tens of thousands a year, which is why every figure on this page is net price rather than tuition.
- How much do private colleges in Rhode Island cost on average?
- Across the 9 private colleges in Rhode Island that report a figure, the middle of the range is about $36,967 a year after aid, running from $20,252 to $50,507.
- What does the Pell grant percentage mean?
- It is the share of undergraduates at that school receiving a federal Pell grant — need-based aid that does not have to be repaid. A higher share usually means the school enrols more students from lower-income families. Across the private colleges listed here it runs from 13% to 43%, with a middle of about 15%. It is the only aid figure the Department of Education publishes per school, so it is the only one shown.
Which of these actually fits you?
A list is a starting point, not an answer. Two minutes of questions gives you a shortlist ranked on cost, academics, size and location — with the reaches labelled honestly.
Find your match — free