by our College Data Analytics Team
[Medical Scientist](/majors/health-care-professions/medical-science/medical-scientist/) is a field worth comparing on the balance of cost and outcomes. The schools below stand out for delivering a strong medical scientist education at a price that pays off.
For its 2026 best-value ranking, College Factual looked at 4 schools to find the best return on investment for medical scientist students.
What’s on this page:
Below are the schools that deliver the strongest value in medical scientist, balancing cost against outcomes.
Northwestern University earned the #1 spot for value among medical scientist schools in Illinois. Set in the city of Evanston, Northwestern University is a very large private not-for-profit institution. In-state tuition and fees average $68,322. Typical student debt for medical scientist graduates is $16,616. Early-career medical scientist graduates make about $124,451. Set against $16,616 in median debt, that is a healthy payoff. Roughly 8% of applicants are accepted.
This list is compiled by College Factual (MF_RANKING_2025), 2026 edition. The methodology weighs the cost of a degree against the earnings graduates go on to achieve, drawn primarily from the U.S. Department of Education (IPEDS and College Scorecard).
Ranking method: College Major Best Value · 4 schools evaluated.
*Averages shown above reflect the top 2 ranked schools only.
More about our data sources and methodologies.