USNWR 2009: Looking at the Data XII (Sticker Price)

College Search & Selection
1

<p>The publication of the 2009 USNWR College Rankings provides an opportunity to compare schools based on a wide variety of data points. In this and in other threads, I urge the reader to think less about the absolute rankings and more about the nature and value-added of the data point being discussed.</p>

<p>In this challenging economic time, the cost of attending college is going to be an increasingly important component for selecting among various colleges. The data below is for the listed price for tuition and fees. In many cases, this will NOT be the cost of attending these colleges as there is a great amount of financial aid available. Furthermore, many top colleges also offer generous amounts of merit aid. So, while public universities have a sticker price advantage over the great majority of the privates, the true cost of the privates may, in some cases, be lower than the cost of the public.</p>

<p>Sticker Price (OOS price for publics) , National University</p>

<p>$21,386 , Georgia Tech
$21,400 , U Florida
$21,818 , U Wisconsin
$22,294 , U North Carolina
$23,219 , U Washington
$24,940 , Penn State
$25,334 , U Illinois
$25,722 , U Texas
$26,102 , UCLA
$27,176 , UC Irvine
$28,656 , UC Davis
$28,932 , UCSD
$28,996 , Rice
$29,181 , UC Santa Barbara
$29,326 , W&M
$29,540 , UC Berkeley
$29,600 , U Virginia
$32,094 , Yeshiva
$32,401 , U Michigan
$34,252 , Case Western
$34,290 , Princeton
$34,437 , Caltech
$35,300 , Yale
$36,030 , Stanford
$36,173 , Harvard
$36,336 , Emory
$36,390 , MIT
$36,504 , Cornell
$36,847 , Notre Dame
$36,915 , Dartmouth
$36,975 , Wake Forest
$37,005 , Vanderbilt
$37,125 , Northwestern
$37,248 , Wash U
$37,250 , U Rochester
$37,294 , Brandeis
$37,372 , NYU
$37,525 , Duke
$37,526 , U Penn
$37,550 , Lehigh
$37,632 , U Chicago
$37,700 , Johns Hopkins
$37,718 , Brown
$37,740 , USC
$37,950 , Boston Coll
$37,990 , Rensselaer
$38,122 , Georgetown
$38,664 , Tulane
$38,840 , Tufts
$38,844 , Carnegie Mellon
$39,326 , Columbia</p>

<p>Sticker Price (IS Students Only) , Public University</p>

<p>$3,790 , U Florida
$5,272 , Georgia Tech
$5,396 , U North Carolina
$6,802 , U Washington
$7,034 , UCLA
$7,556 , UC Irvine
$7,568 , U Wisconsin
$8,130 , U Texas
$8,573 , UC Santa Barbara
$8,635 , UC Davis
$8,911 , UCSD
$8,932 , UC Berkeley
$9,300 , U Virginia
$10,246 , W&M
$11,111 , U Michigan
$11,261 , U Illinois
$13,706 , Penn State</p>

<p>Sticker Price , LAC</p>

<p>Free , US Military Acad
Free , US Naval Acad
$31,098 , Grinnell
$33,479 , Davidson
$35,625 , Pomona
$36,058 , Smith
$36,490 , Swarthmore
$36,504 , Macalester
$36,540 , Bryn Mawr
$36,635 , Harvey Mudd
$36,640 , Wellesley
$37,160 , Claremont McK
$37,412 , W&L
$37,525 , Haverford
$37,640 , Amherst
$37,640 , Williams
$38,046 , Carleton
$38,190 , Bowdoin
$38,280 , Oberlin
$38,520 , Colby *
$38,600 , Hamilton
$38,634 , Wesleyan
$39,210 , Middlebury*
$39,350 , Bates*
$39,545 , Colgate
$40,210 , Vassar</p>

<p>*estimated</p>

2

<p>It's unfair to Illinois to not footnote its tuition guarantee. That would help put its tuition in context. That is, it may look relatively high now, but four years later students will still be paying that rate, while most of the other colleges will have increased yearly.</p>

3

<p>
[quote]
That is, it may look relatively high now, but four years later students will still be paying that rate, while most of the other colleges will have increased yearly.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>That's not really a unique thing. Georgia Tech does that also.</p>

4

<p>The irony is that it is often (but not always) cheaper for students from lower-income families to attend nominally costly elite private colleges and universities because those schools are able to offer more generous need-based financial aid. As you go up the family income scale, however, need-based aid is reduced, so that by the time family income reaches $100,000 or so it is typically cheaper to attend an in-state public. Most colleges eliminate need-based aid entirely at a family income of around $150,000. Consequently, students from higher-income families will often find the net cost of attendance (tuition + fees + room & board + books + personal expenses, less grants/scholarships) much lower at public colleges and universities---especially in-state publics, but even out-of-state publics will usually be cheaper than privates for the student who must pay full sticker price.</p>

<p>Here's a net cost-of-attendance comparison at various income levels for some leading schools:</p>

<p><a href="http://projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/Pledges_Analysis.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/Pledges_Analysis.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>Note that these figures do not include merit aid, but most of the very top private institutions do not offer merit aid.</p>

5

<p>
[quote]
That's not really a unique thing. Georgia Tech does that also.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Theirs was the one that I knew of for sure, since we monitor Big Ten tuition most closely. Thanks for pointing out that Georgia schools do this as well. It remains relatively uncommon, certainly among this group.</p>

<p>I think any school which offers a four-year tuition freeze should be marked in this list, so I hope people will post others that they know of. I saw Vanderbilt listed on one such compilation, but the list was inaccurate in other respects. I hope others will continue to chime in, and the list can be reposted with this addition.</p>

6

<p>Don't forget the in-state tuition rate at Cornell!</p>

<p>$19,291</p>