ha, so I know this answer should probably be obvious, but like is college tuition per year or overall?
Like, the tuition at USC is approx $50,000? So does that mean $50,000 for 4 years or $50,000 per year?
I’ve never really thought about it and I feel kinda stupid for not knowing the answer so don’t roast me in this forum lmao
Multiply by four.
50,000 every year
There’s also “room and board” = Housing and food, the cost of which, depending on the university, is presented per year or per semester (so read carefully).
However this is “sticker price”.
There’s a tool called NPC, or " net price calculator ".
That tool calculates the net price for you. Eaxh college has a formula looking at your parents’ income, their assets, often also your grades and test scores.
For an experiment, run the NPC on Cal State Chico, USC, Pitzer, Whitman, UPuget Sound, ULaverne.
You’ll see very different results.
The cost of attendance at USC is $69711 PER YEAR…now.
Tuition. $52283
Room and Board. $14348
Books. $1200
Other. $1800.
PER YEAR…and the costs will likely increase each year you are in attendance,
It is pretty confusing.
it depends on the school, some charge a per-unit fee, others for semesters, and others operate on quarters - which are really -tri-mesters). Most also offer summer and intersession courses but, tend to charge a higher price. Most Public schools offer cheaper tuition to in-state students, further complicating the matter.
You should also note that at many campuses, few people actually pay the published rate.
and don’t forget about “fees” !!!
Regardless of HOW they create their charges…the costs are PER YEAR…not for all four years.
So for example…if you are applying for 2018-2019 then the costs will be for THAT school year only.
@franticstudies
Another figure you should think about is COA (Cost of Attendance) - that covers Tuition, Fees, room, board, books, transportation, personal expenses (i.e. movie and a pizza) for the year. I like looking at the website CollegeData for that as a ballpark number, just to get me started.
Next - when calculating your total 4 year cost, increase the COA by 4% each year for inflation. May be lower than that, but unlikely 
We made up a nice spreadsheet with this added in. Then deducted grants, outside scholarships etc. to give us the total cost for 4 years at each school. Black and white and easy to compare costs across schools.
Finally, consider that graduating in 4 years takes you being on the ball and scheduling your classes appropriately (so pre-requisite classes are taken and passed at the right time, for example). If you don’t graduate in 4 years, you don’t get free COA - you still have to pay!
There are mandatory fees everyone pays, like student activity fee, or health fee.
Then there are course or major specific fees, depending on the courses you take. For example my D paid $48 lab fee for chem and $77 lab fee for bio.
Also the tuition can vary by the school within the university. For example nursing or engineering might cost more than Arts & Sciences.
thank you! I know understand it haha…
I now know that the only way I’m stepping foot into USC is if I get a full tuition scholarship lol
Run the NPC. If you’re neither NMSF nor qualify per NMSF then USC is off the table.
HOWEVER do NOT discount colleges till you’ve run the NPC. Most people do NOT pay sticker price. The trick is finding the colleges that fit you best and really want you, so that they’re incentivized toward giving you scholarships.