College Comparison IXX: Tuition & Fees

College Search & Selection
1

<p>In order to assist some in their college search process, I have prepared a series of threads that will compare colleges on a variety of measurements. In making these comparisons, I have created three broad groups (private national universities, public national universities and liberal arts colleges) and provide comparisons involving 117 colleges (national universities ranked in the USNWR Top 75 and LACs ranked in the USNWR Top 40). </p>

<p>Following is a comparison of TUITION & FEES. In these challenging financial times, the cost to attend college can be daunting. Perhaps now more than ever, students and families may want to compare the cost of an OOS state university as an alternative to various private options and consider the quality and value of the environment, education, and attention being offered by various alternatives. When looking at these figures, keep in mind that many colleges will offer various amounts of financial aid. Nearly all offer some level of need-based aid; many will also offer merit aid to high achieving students. </p>

<p>I hope that you enjoy the thread and find some helpful information. Good luck to all in your college search process!</p>

<p>Tuition & Fees , Private National University</p>

<p>$4,290 , BYU
$31,248 , Rice
$32,094 , Yeshiva
$34,584 , Caltech
$34,926 , Syracuse
$35,160 , SMU
$35,340 , Princeton
$36,188 , U Miami
$36,238 , Case Western
$36,449 , Fordham
$36,500 , Yale
$37,012 , Harvard
$37,440 , Worcester
$37,782 , MIT
$37,850 , Pepperdine
$37,881 , Stanford
$37,954 , Cornell
$38,036 , Emory
$38,440 , Boston University
$38,461 , Northwestern
$38,477 , Notre Dame
$38,579 , Vanderbilt
$38,622 , Wake Forest
$38,630 , Lehigh
$38,679 , Dartmouth
$38,690 , U Rochester
$38,762 , Brandeis
$38,765 , NYU
$38,848 , Brown
$38,864 , Wash U
$38,970 , U Penn
$38,975 , Duke
$39,124 , USC
$39,130 , Boston College
$39,150 , Johns Hopkins
$39,165 , Rensselaer
$39,212 , Georgetown
$39,381 , U Chicago
$39,833 , Carnegie Mellon
$39,945 , George Washington
$40,342 , Tufts
$40,564 , Tulane
$41,316 , Columbia</p>

<p>Tuition & Fees for OOS students , State University</p>

<p>$15,542 , U MINNESOTA
$21,488 , VIRGINIA TECH
$22,198 , U IOWA
$22,270 , U WISCONSIN
$22,278 , OHIO STATE
$22,294 , U N CAROLINA
$22,342 , U GEORGIA
$22,518 , RUTGERS
$22,886 , TEXAS A&M
$23,186 , U DELAWARE
$23,744 , U FLORIDA
$23,852 , U PITTSBURGH
$23,990 , U MARYLAND
$24,367 , U WASHINGTON
$24,998 , CLEMSON
$25,118 , PURDUE
$25,486 , U CONNECTICUT
$25,716 , GEORGIA TECH
$25,756 , U ILLINOIS
$25,946 , PENN STATE
$26,160 , INDIANA U
$28,270 , MICHIGAN ST
$28,796 , UC IRVINE
$29,897 , UCLA
$30,022 , UC BERKELEY
$30,592 , WILLIAM & MARY
$30,600 , U TEXAS
$30,724 , UC S BARBARA
$30,819 , UC SAN DIEGO
$31,385 , UC DAVIS
$31,559 , UC S CRUZ
$31,870 , U VIRGINIA
$34,230 , U MICHIGAN</p>

<p>Tuition & Fees for IS students , State University</p>

<p>$4,373 , U FLORIDA
$5,396 , U N CAROLINA
$6,030 , U GEORGIA
$6,824 , U IOWA
$7,506 , GEORGIA TECH
$7,692 , U WASHINGTON
$8,020 , U WISCONSIN
$8,053 , U MARYLAND
$8,228 , UCLA
$8,336 , TEXAS A&M
$8,352 , UC BERKELEY
$8,613 , INDIANA U
$8,638 , PURDUE
$8,706 , OHIO STATE
$8,735 , VIRGINIA TECH
$8,775 , UC IRVINE
$8,798 , UC SAN DIEGO
$8,890 , UC S CRUZ
$8,930 , U TEXAS
$9,055 , UC S BARBARA
$9,364 , UC DAVIS
$9,486 , U DELAWARE
$9,870 , U VIRGINIA
$9,886 , U CONNECTICUT
$10,688 , CLEMSON
$10,800 , WILLIAM & MARY
$11,542 , U MINNESOTA
$11,614 , U ILLINOIS
$11,738 , U MICHIGAN
$11,886 , RUTGERS
$11,935 , MICHIGAN ST
$14,154 , U PITTSBURGH
$14,416 , PENN STATE</p>

<p>Tuition & Fees , LAC</p>

<p>$- , US Military Acad
$- , US Naval Acad
$34,172 , Sewanee
$35,124 , Davidson
$36,476 , Grinnell
$36,656 , Furman
$36,940 , Whitman
$37,017 , Pomona
$37,278 , Colorado College
$37,758 , Smith
$37,815 , Lafayette
$37,860 , Swarthmore
$38,034 , Bryn Mawr
$38,062 , Wellesley
$38,174 , Macalester
$38,320 , Colby
$38,467 , Harvey Mudd
$38,510 , Claremont McK
$38,650 , Barnard
$38,700 , Scripps
$38,722 , Holy Cross
$38,780 , Middlebury
$38,877 , W&L
$38,922 , Occidental
$38,928 , Amherst
$39,085 , Haverford
$39,126 , Mt. Holyoke
$39,300 , Bates
$39,490 , Williams
$39,760 , Hamilton
$39,777 , Carleton
$39,880 , Bard
$40,004 , Oberlin
$40,010 , U Richmond
$40,020 , Bowdoin
$40,092 , Wesleyan
$40,816 , Bucknell
$40,840 , Trinity
$40,970 , Colgate
$40,980 , Kenyon
$41,930 , Vassar</p>

2

<p>Hawkette,
A nice compilation to show the “TRUE” aggregate cost for publics would be to give a weighted average:</p>

<p>(%instate)<em>(instate tuition) + (% out of state)</em>(out of state tuition), then rank.</p>

<p>I would do this, but it seems you already have the data in an Excel sheet?</p>

3

<p>WOW- the IN STATE difference between the cheapest, Florida and the most expensive schools, Penn State is $10,000 a year or an extra 40,000 clams per bachelors degree. Holy Crap! ven adjusted regionally, ths is aHUGE differnce, especially for 2 schools ranked dead eaven by USNEWS. It sems he great state of Penn. needs to takesome essons rom Smeal buiness shool on managing cash flow.</p>

4

<p>Careful about using these figures. Tuition and fees are one thing, but room & board costs can also vary considerably from one school to the next, with the result that the school with the lower tuition may not actually be cheaper.</p>

<p>One example:</p>

<p>School / OOS tuition & fees / room & board / total</p>

<p>UCLA / $28,897 / $13,310 / $42,207
UC Berkeley / $30,022 / $15,308 / $45,330
UVA / $31,870 / $8,260 / $40,130
Michigan / $34,230 / $8,590 / $42,820 </p>

<p>You’d get a very different impression of the relative cost of these schools if you look only at tuition and fees than if you look at true COA. Of the four schools in this groyp, UVA has the second-highest tuition but the lowest total cost. Michigan’s OOS tuition & fees are roughly $4,000 more than Berkeley’s and nearly $6,000 more than UCLA’s; yet adding in room & board, the cost to attend Michigan is within $600 or so of UCLA, and $2,500 less than the cost of attending Berkeley as an OOS student.</p>

<p>Also note that for full-pay students it will almost always be cheaper to attend an OOS public than a private school, with BYU the obvious and singular outlier.</p>

5

<p>^ Just a quick addendum: my D’s first choice school is currently a mid-priced LAC. Adding together tuition & fees + room & board, that school would cost us a little over $8,000/yr more than OOS at Michigan, my own alma mater. Michigan would be a handsome savings, roughly 16% off the LAC price, if I could persuade her to follow in my footsteps. (We’ll be full-pay at either school). Some other LACs are even more expensive.</p>

6

<p>Purdue is like 40k a year for an OOS student. Then you gotta add in the living costs such as meals outside and to go out and all…</p>

7

<p>bclintonk, would your D have a shot at merit money from the LAC? Some of the midwestern LACs give a fair number of ~$5K-$10K awards. That would at least narrow the gap with Michigan.</p>

8

<p>Yes, a person needs to consider room and board costs. In some areas, R&B can add $15k+, while in other areas R&B might only add $7k. Big difference!</p>

<p>Also, the type of residence hall can make a big difference in price…the older halls are often much cheaper than the new or remodeled halls.</p>

<p>BTW…</p>

<p>U Alabama</p>

<p>OOS $19,000
IS $7,000</p>

<p>And…a big thanks for the lists…awesome info!</p>

9

<p>I only did part of it and I know it’s not in order, but the total cost of attendance is the most important financial factor. If you only look at tuition you’re only getting part of the picture, not the whole. I’ll complete IS and LAC later.</p>

<p>Private National Universities Cost of Attendance per year
$16,120 LDS, BYU
$20,410 Non-LDS, BYU
$43,288, Rice
$47,934, Yeshiva
$49,968, Caltech
$50,100, Syracuse
$50,806, SMU
$50,620, Princeton
$55,312, U Miami
$50,436, Case Western
$55,160, Fordham
$50,550, Yale
$52,000, Harvard
$44,278, Worcester
$52,000, MIT
$48,750, Pepperdine
$52,623, Stanford
$52,394, Cornell
$52,132, Emory
$53,000, Boston University
$53,608, Northwestern
$51,300, Notre Dame
$55,368, Vanderbilt
$52,082, Wake Forest
$51,050, Lehigh
$52,973, Dartmouth
$51,140, U Rochester
$52,162, Brandeis
$53,793, NYU
$52,030, Brown
$55,866 Wash U
$53,095, U Penn
$53,390, Duke
$53,618, USC
$54,300, Boston College
$53,390, Johns Hopkins
$54,160, Rensselaer
$55,330, Georgetown
$54,047, U Chicago
$53,660, Carnegie Mellon
$55,125, George Washington
$53,200, Tufts
$52,996, Tulane
$53,644, Columbia</p>

<p>COA per year for OOS students , State University
$25,787, U MINNESOTA
$31,872, VIRGINIA TECH
$34,812, U IOWA
$35,029, U WISCONSIN
$36,210, OHIO STATE
$35,311, U N CAROLINA
$40,086, U GEORGIA
$36,977, RUTGERS
$34,696, TEXAS A&M
$34,922, U DELAWARE
$36,094, U FLORIDA
$32,752, U PITTSBURGH
$37,416, U MARYLAND
$36,985, U WASHINGTON
$37,548, CLEMSON
$36,848, PURDUE
$39,146, U CONNECTICUT
$38,120, GEORGIA TECH
$40,130, U ILLINOIS
$39,510, PENN STATE
$37,644, INDIANA U
$38,566, MICHIGAN ST
$48,041, UC IRVINE
$49,193, UCLA
$50,306, UC BERKELEY
$38,974, WILLIAM & MARY
$43,742, U TEXAS
$49,926, UC S BARBARA
$46,699, UC SAN DIEGO
$48,049, UC DAVIS
$39,483, UC S CRUZ
$42,570, U VIRGINIA
$47,188, U MICHIGAN</p>

10

<p>

<em>clears throat</em> ummm…you get what you pay for… ;)</p>

11

<p>COA for IS students , State University</p>

<p>$16,723, U FLORIDA
$17,423, U N CAROLINA
$21,876, U GEORGIA
$19,438, U IOWA
$19,710, GEORGIA TECH
$20,310, U WASHINGTON
$20,280, U WISCONSIN
$21,479, U MARYLAND
$26,524, UCLA
$20,266, TEXAS A&M
$28,285, UC BERKELEY
$20,097, INDIANA U
$20,368, PURDUE
$22,638, OHIO STATE
$18,989, VIRGINIA TECH
$25,372, UC IRVINE
$24,030, UC SAN DIEGO
$27,507, UC S CRUZ
$22,666, U TEXAS
$27,257, UC S BARBARA
$25,380, UC DAVIS
$21,222, U DELAWARE
$21,012, U VIRGINIA
$23,546, U CONNECTICUT
$23,638, CLEMSON
$19,182, WILLIAM & MARY
$21,787, U MINNESOTA
$25,988, U ILLINOIS
$23,910, U MICHIGAN
$26,345, RUTGERS
$22,168, MICHIGAN ST
$23,054, U PITTSBURGH
$27,980, PENN STATE</p>

12

<p>This is such good info…thanks for the compilations. </p>

<p>I think every high school counselor should hand out such lists each year to every high school parent starting in the freshmen year. Then parents won’t be sooooo shocked when they learn that the cost to attend college is so much more than when they went to college 30 years ago.</p>

<p>BTW…are you using the COA from each school’s website? If so, don’t various schools include different levels of meal plans in their COAs? Furthermore, some include their cheaper dorms, some include their moderately priced dorms, and some use their priciests dorms in their COAs. So, parents need to look at those specifics, too.</p>

13

<p>

</p>

<p>Penn State must be better than all of those schools, because it def costs the most for in-state tuition then. </p>

<p>I think it is pretty unreasonable to judge the academic reputation of a school solely because of its tuition.</p>

14

<p>I think it is reasonable not to include room and board in this compilation. Many students move off campus after freshman year, so the total will differ for different students. Also, many schools have different meal plan options for upperclassmen, so even those who stay on campus will have different board costs.</p>

<p>Nonetheless, it is a good idea to look closely at room and board when comparing costs, because they can differ quite a bit across schools.</p>

15

<p>UCB…>>>> <em>clears throat</em> ummm…you get what you pay for… <<<</p>

<p>so…using that (ill) logic…do you get less educated if you pay instate rate for Berkeley? </p>

<p>LOL</p>

16

<p>Moderators, would it be possible to compile and/or sticky this series of comparisons?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

17

<p>

</p>

<p>Nah. She’s got the stats to qualify for merit money at most schools that offer it, but her top choices are all LACs in the Northeast. Great schools, every one, but not a dime of merit money among them. We’re just above the cut-off point for need-based FA, the point at which colleges say we can afford full freight but we have to swallow hard and ask how we’re going to find $50K+ per year for the next 8 years (for D1 & D2) when that represents close to 40% of our after-tax income. We’ll have to scrimp and save, defer maintenance and purchases, forego amenities, and take out substantial loans, but we’ll scrape by; bottom line, we are financially secure enough to do it, though not without pain. But we value education highly and do not want to deny our daughters their educational dreams. </p>

<p>DW & I, both Michigan alums, always said we wanted to give our kids at least the education we got. That’s a pretty high standard, and frankly one that IMHO many of the pricier private schools on these lists wouldn’t meet. D1’s schools do meet that standard. So we’ll bite the bullet. I do think on pure academics Michigan is highly competitive with her preferred schools, especially if she gets into the Honors Program which would give any one of her top schools a run for its money. But she likes small, she likes Northeast, and she feels she can more easily carve her own path if she’s not following in Mom & Dad’s footsteps. (Sigh). I can almost taste that $8K difference, though. In fact, I can taste it. It would pay for the occasional plate of shrimp, the occasional dinner out, the nice bottle of wine on Saturday night. (Sigh). Not to mention the replacement car for our beat-up 10 year old minivan and the badly needed replacement windows in our back room.</p>