Tuition and Costs -- Data and Rankings
One feature that often gets overlooked by the organizations that rank schools is the amount it costs to go there. Parents, of course, are keenly interested. It makes sense to include this as one of the criteria used in ranking schools on an overall basis. After all, if two schools have identical Faculty Awards, SATs, etc., etc. and one costs $10,000 less to attend, then it is arguably a better institution -- at least from the perspective of the person purchasing the education. The institutions ranking best in this category are the United States military academies, which cost nothing. The rest are as follows (note that state schools are given the benefit of their in state tuition). The data is one or two years old, so please check current costs. The categories are:
Tuition One year of tuition at the school in question
Tuition (OofS) Tuition for out-of-state students (state schools only)
Total Cost Tuition plus room and board
Fin.Aid The average financial aid package available to students
Grad Debt The average debt load a graduate has after leaving school
Schools | Tuition | Tuition (OofS) | Total Cost | Fin.Aid | GradDebt | Rank |
U.S. Naval Academy | $0 |
| $0 | $0 | $0 | 1 |
U.S. Air Force Acad. | $0 |
| $0 | $0 | $0 | 1 |
Brigham Young Univ. | $3,150 |
| $8,024 | $4,077 | $11,000 | 3 |
Univ. of Mississippi | $3,916 | $8,826 | $12,866 | $5,351 | $11,658 | 4 |
Adams State Coll. | $2,604 | $7,644 | $13,239 | $6,392 | $13,644 | 5 |
Univ. of Arkansas | $4,768 | $11,518 | $16,605 | $7,092 | $10,271 | 6 |
Univ. of Florida | $2,581 | $11,595 | $17,235 | $6,376 | $13,968 | 7 |
St. Augustine's Coll. | $9,530 |
| $14,490 | $11,387 | $12,850 | 8 |
Univ. of Oklahoma | $2,929 | $8,078 | $13,108 | $5,800 | $19,821 | 9 |
Univ. of Alabama | $3,556 | $9,624 | $13,856 | $6,562 | $19,386 | 9 |
Texas A&M Univ. | $4,748 | $11,288 | $17,181 | $5,480 | $13,143 | 11 |
Louisiana State Univ. | $3,670 | $8,970 | $14,186 | $5,080 | $17,818 | 12 |
Univ. of Kansas | $4,101 | $11,577 | $16,399 | $5,371 | $17,002 | 13 |
North Dakota State | $3,956 | $8,956 | $13,452 | $4,191 | $20,107 | 14 |
Cooper Union | $0 |
| $10,000 | $3,600 | $10,080 | 15 |
San Diego State | $2,014 | $7,210 | $15,997 | $6,500 | $13,500 | 16 |
Univ. of Kentucky | $4,547 | $11,227 | $15,512 | $6,007 | $20,087 | 17 |
Univ. of Texas | $3,950 | $10,490 | $16,465 | $7,270 | $17,100 | 18 |
Univ. of Georgia | $4,078 | $14,854 | $20,610 | $4,000 | $13,600 | 19 |
Univ. of Nebraska | $4,839 | $12,422 | $17,626 | $5,926 | $16,592 | 19 |
U. of South Carolina | $4,984 | $13,104 | $18,168 | $2,750 | $16,200 | 21 |
Univ. of Iowa | $4,993 | $15,285 | $21,215 | $5,150 | $11,300 | 22 |
Arizona State Univ. | $3,595 | $12,115 | $17,981 | $6,183 | $17,662 | 22 |
Florida State Univ. | $2,713 | $13,741 | $20,513 | $7,957 | $15,458 | 24 |
Coll. of New Jersey | $7,516 | $11,713 | $19,129 | $4,600 | $13,000 | 25 |
Lincoln Univ. | $6,503 | $9,780 | $15,921 | $11,000 | $20,000 | 26 |
Oklahoma State | $3,898 | $13,120 | $18,288 | $5,500 | $18,100 | 27 |
Univ. of Tennessee | $4,450 | $13,532 | $18,112 | $6,943 | $21,689 | 28 |
Georgia Tech. | $3,726 | $14,506 | $20,656 | $8,737 | $16,500 | 29 |
Iowa State Univ. | $5,028 | $14,370 | $20,110 | $6,815 | $16,979 | 30 |
U. of North Carolina | $4,165 | $16,606 | $23,122 | $8,458 | $12,800 | 31 |
Univ. of Arizona | $3,603 | $12,373 | $19,183 | $5,635 | $17,772 | 32 |
Temple Univ. | $8,062 | $14,316 | $21,428 | $10,524 | $14,500 | 33 |
Univ. of Maryland | $5,898 | $15,100 | $22,341 | $7,016 | $14,076 | 34 |
Florida Southern C. | $17,042 |
| $23,092 | $13,517 | $12,100 | 35 |
Methodist College | $15,840 |
| $21,780 | $9,410 | $15,400 | 36 |
Univ. of Missouri | $7,278 | $16,725 | $22,495 | $5,832 | $17,085 | 37 |
Michigan State Univ. | $7,088 | $16,992 | $22,264 | $9,355 | $18,663 | 38 |
Rutgers | $7,592 | $14,106 | $22,188 | $8,994 | $15,311 | 39 |
Univ. of Minnesota | $6,280 | $16,854 | $22,550 | $8,496 | $19,500 | 40 |
Univ. of Virginia | $5,964 | $21,984 | $27,575 | $7,637 | $13,890 | 41 |
Ohio State Univ. | $6,651 | $16,638 | $23,419 | $8,211 | $15,011 | 41 |
Indiana Univ. | $6,517 | $17,552 | $23,424 | $5,636 | $16,930 | 43 |
Penn State Univ. | $8,382 | $17,610 | $23,270 | $11,222 | $17,125 | 44 |
Abilene Christian U. | $13,290 |
| $18,370 | $10,052 | $24,572 | 45 |
Univ. of Washington | $4,636 | $15,337 | $23,767 | $9,784 | $14,500 | 46 |
Tuskegee Univ. | $11,360 |
| $17,300 | $13,666 | $29,885 | 47 |
Purdue Univ. | $5,860 | $17,640 | $24,340 | $6,293 | $15,486 | 48 |
Culinary Inst. of Am. | $17,640 |
| $22,570 | $8,500 | $18,768 | 49 |
Univ. of Wisconsin | $5,140 | $19,150 | $25,280 | $9,341 | $15,904 | 50 |
Illinois Inst. of Tech. | $20,331 |
| $26,613 | $19,117 | $8,661 | 51 |
Univ. of Illinois | $8,452 | $18,046 | $24,664 | $5,257 | $14,791 | 52 |
Univ. of Oregon | $4,794 | $15,990 | $22,971 | $7,099 | $19,916 | 53 |
Wheaton College | $18,500 |
| $24,600 | $10,589 | $14,595 | 54 |
Univ. of Colorado | $3,884 | $20,336 | $26,984 | $5,903 | $16,737 | 55 |
North Central Coll. | $19,221 |
| $25,596 | $14,622 | $13,754 | 56 |
Univ. of Cincinnati | $6,936 | $17,310 | $24,054 | $7,125 | $19,500 | 57 |
Rice Univ. | $18,253 |
| $26,133 | $17,177 | $12,525 | 58 |
Trinity Univ. | $19,176 |
| $26,466 | $15,258 | $14,000 | 59 |
Washington and Lee | $23,295 |
| $29,005 | $16,652 | $15,673 | 60 |
Univ. of California | $4,895 | $18,375 | $29,587 | $10,554 | $13,052 | 61 |
Grinnell College | $24,490 |
| $31,060 | $16,582 | $13,324 | 62 |
Hollins Univ. | $20,675 |
| $27,965 | $15,565 | $13,907 | 63 |
Univ. of Michigan | $8,650 | $25,733 | $32,353 | $8,826 | $16,024 | 64 |
Cal. Tech. | $24,117 |
| $31,677 | $21,416 | $12,621 | 65 |
UCLA | $4,878 | $17,257 | $27,709 | $9,800 | $16,825 | 66 |
Coll. of the Atlantic | $22,536 |
| $28,623 | $17,749 | $17,125 | 67 |
Macalaster College | $25,088 |
| $31,962 | $17,975 | $14,200 | 68 |
DePaul Univ. | $18,750 |
| $26,130 | $14,106 | $18,125 | 69 |
Davidson College | $25,903 |
| $33,274 | $15,143 | $14,557 | 70 |
Gonzaga Univ. | $20,800 |
| $27,010 | $15,566 | $21,166 | 71 |
Carleton College | $28,527 |
| $34,395 | $18,483 | $14,882 | 72 |
Univ. of Notre Dame | $27,612 |
| $34,542 | $19,000 | $14,290 | 73 |
Bucknell Univ. | $28,960 |
| $35,262 | $19,938 | $15,000 | 74 |
Princeton Univ. | $28,540 |
| $36,649 | $23,053 | $10,900 | 75 |
St. John's (Md) | $27,410 |
| $34,380 | $19,826 | $17,525 | 76 |
RISD | $26,199 |
| $33,567 | $13,700 | $19,125 | 77 |
Case Western Reserve Univ. | $24,742 |
| $32,002 | $20,063 | $21,418 | 78 |
Columbia Univ. | $28,206 |
| $36,752 | $24,306 | $13,430 | 79 |
Williams College | $28,090 |
| $35,750 | $22,216 | $15,625 | 80 |
Juilliard School | $21,250 |
| $29,690 | $18,169 | $21,588 | 81 |
Reed College | $29,000 |
| $36,750 | $20,640 | $14,372 | 82 |
Wake Forest Univ. | $26,490 |
| $34,090 | $18,817 | $20,339 | 83 |
Oberlin College | $29,688 |
| $36,938 | $24,023 | $13,926 | 83 |
Wellesley College | $27,904 |
| $36,516 | $19,686 | $15,467 | 83 |
Kenyon College | $30,330 |
| $35,370 | $22,008 | $20,800 | 86 |
Bates College | $37,500 |
| $37,500 | $22,455 | $17,045 | 87 |
Amherst College | $29,728 |
| $37,468 | $26,473 | $12,270 | 88 |
Northwestern Univ. | $28,524 |
| $37,491 | $21,785 | $13,253 | 89 |
Villanova Univ. | $26,168 |
| $34,808 | $18,285 | $20,874 | 90 |
Univ. of Miami | $26,280 |
| $34,608 | $21,414 | $28,352 | 91 |
Swarthmore College | $28,802 |
| $37,716 | $24,174 | $12,726 | 91 |
New School Univ. | $23,620 |
| $33,516 | $13,156 | $23,919 | 91 |
Vassar College | $29,540 |
| $37,205 | $22,114 | $15,673 | 94 |
Carnegie Mellon | $28,986 |
| $36,831 | $15,710 | $17,880 | 95 |
Pomona College | $27,150 |
| $37,130 | $21,310 | $15,800 | 96 |
Emory Univ. | $27,952 |
| $36,872 | $20,070 | $18,350 | 97 |
Harvard Univ. | $29,060 |
| $37,928 | $21,229 | $10,465 | 98 |
Mount Holyoke | $29,338 |
| $37,918 | $21,398 | $13,000 | 99 |
Yale Univ. | $28,400 |
| $37,000 | $17,430 | $19,228 | 100 |
Bryn Mawr College | $27,520 |
| $36,890 | $24,500 | $19,500 | 101 |
Bowdoin College | $30,120 |
| $37,790 | $23,745 | $14,682 | 102 |
Dartmouth College | $29,145 |
| $37,770 | $25,154 | $14,719 | 103 |
Duke Univ. | $29,345 |
| $37,555 | $19,779 | $16,502 | 104 |
Smith College | $27,544 |
| $37,034 | $23,676 | $19,546 | 105 |
Boston College | $27,522 |
| $37,729 | $18,793 | $16,417 | 106 |
Haverford College | $28,880 |
| $37,900 | $24,784 | $14,685 | 106 |
Middlebury College | $38,100 |
| $38,100 | $25,260 | $20,824 | 108 |
Tulane Univ. | $29,810 |
| $37,451 | $20,549 | $19,915 | 109 |
Stanford Univ. | $28,563 |
| $37,636 | $27,474 | $17,185 | 110 |
USC | $28,692 |
| $37,324 | $19,952 | $20,619 | 111 |
Johns Hopkins Univ. | $28,730 |
| $37,872 | $24,532 | $16,600 | 112 |
Tufts Univ. | $29,630 |
| $38,270 | $22,028 | $15,169 | 113 |
Boston Univ. | $28,906 |
| $38,194 | $22,916 | $17,808 | 114 |
Sarah Lawrence | $30,824 |
| $41,218 | $23,531 | $13,042 | 114 |
Vanderbilt Univ. | $28,440 |
| $37,897 | $22,757 | $21,015 | 116 |
Brandeis Univ. | $29,875 |
| $38,198 | $19,659 | $19,500 | 117 |
Univ. of Chicago | $29,238 |
| $38,553 | $23,723 | $16,124 | 118 |
Brown Univ. | $29,846 |
| $37,942 | $22,594 | $22,530 | 119 |
Georgetown Univ. | $28,384 |
| $38,440 | $21,000 | $17,900 | 120 |
Univ. of Pennsylvania | $29,318 |
| $37,960 | $24,619 | $21,556 | 121 |
Wash U in St. Louis | $29,053 |
| $38,293 | $22,979 | $19,500 | 122 |
Cornell Univ. | $28,754 |
| $38,283 | $21,270 | $20,213 | 123 |
Wesleyan Univ. | $29,998 |
| $38,224 | $23,741 | $23,323 | 124 |
MIT | $29,600 |
| $38,310 | $24,788 | $20,484 | 125 |
New York Univ. | $28,496 |
| $39,406 | $17,567 | $20,079 | 126 |
It should be noted that some of the Ivy League (and other upper-tier private schools with enormous endowments) offer need-based packages that in many cases eradicate cost issues. These are not factored in here because most applicants will never have access to them. Congratulations to the schools for making them available, though.