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
School (Reset Sort)  | Tuition | Tuition (OofS) | Total Cost | Fin. Aid | Grad Debt | Rank |
| Princeton University | $33,000 | $0 | $42,200 | $25,369 | $8,050 | 76 |
| Stanford University | $32,994 | $0 | $43,361 | $28,453 | $15,172 | 87 |
| Yale University | $33,030 | $0 | $43,050 | $26,982 | $14,882 | 91 |
| Harvard University | $33,709 | $0 | $43,655 | $30,780 | $8,769 | 74 |
| University of North Carolina | $4,515 | $18,313 | $24,903 | $9,687 | $13,801 | 20 |
| California Institute of Technology | $29,595 | $0 | $39,903 | $21,416 | $12,621 | 79 |
| Rice University | $23,746 | $0 | $32,868 | $18,360 | $13,452 | 51 |
| Duke University | $32,409 | $0 | $41,239 | $27,842 | $24,391 | 89 |
| Columbia University | $33,246 | $0 | $42,584 | $27,749 | $16,080 | 86 |
| University of California | $6,558 | $25,242 | $38,316 | $14,361 | $13,227 | 71 |
| Dartmouth College | $33,612 | $0 | $43,588 | $27,934 | $19,305 | 110 |
| Williams College | $31,760 | $0 | $40,310 | $27,840 | $10,753 | 49 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $33,600 | $0 | $43,550 | $27,800 | $19,748 | 114 |
| University of Michigan | $9,213 | $27,601 | $34,975 | $10,234 | $22,312 | 77 |
| University of Pennsylvania | $32,364 | $0 | $41,766 | $27,011 | $21,333 | 92 |
| Johns Hopkins University | $34,400 | $0 | $45,022 | $26,818 | $14,000 | 110 |
| Washington University in St. Louis | $33,788 | $0 | $44,240 | $25,653 | $19,500 | 124 |
| University of Virginia | $7,133 | $23,877 | $30,266 | $13,449 | $14,065 | 38 |
| University of California (UCLA) | $6,504 | $24,324 | $36,252 | $13,462 | $13,894 | 70 |
| Amherst College | $33,005 | $0 | $41,590 | $27,288 | $10,170 | 66 |
| University of Notre Dame | $33,407 | $0 | $42,137 | $25,061 | $25,986 | 117 |
| Northwestern University | $33,559 | $0 | $43,825 | $24,761 | $15,136 | 107 |
| Brown University | $35,352 | $0 | $44,486 | $24,402 | $16,040 | 115 |
| Cornell University | $32,981 | $0 | $43,707 | $25,400 | $22,200 | 123 |
| University of Southern California | $33,888 | $0 | $44,032 | $28,459 | $19,131 | 116 |
| University of Chicago | $32,265 | $0 | $42,369 | $23,723 | $16,124 | 96 |
| University of Texas | $6,972 | $16,310 | $22,670 | $9,085 | $16,000 | 20 |
| Emory University | $32,506 | $0 | $42,444 | $27,599 | $22,175 | 99 |
| Middlebury College | $42,340 | $0 | $42,340 | $26,732 | $19,012 | 80 |
| University of Florida | $3,094 | $16,579 | $22,839 | $10,566 | $14,835 | 8 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology | $4,648 | $18,990 | $25,792 | $8,222 | $17,001 | 37 |
| Carleton College | $34,272 | $0 | $42,864 | $26,469 | $17,842 | 97 |
| University of Wisconsin | $6,280 | $20,280 | $26,780 | $10,740 | $17,528 | 39 |
| Vanderbilt University | $31,730 | $0 | $42,016 | $31,935 | $19,585 | 83 |
| Georgetown University | $32,024 | $0 | $42,763 | $23,482 | $22,906 | 121 |
| University of Maryland | $7,821 | $20,145 | $28,220 | $12,132 | $14,076 | 40 |
| Bowdoin College | $32,990 | $0 | $41,660 | $25,250 | $15,300 | 82 |
| Pomona College | $31,865 | $0 | $43,156 | $26,300 | $15,600 | 93 |
| Penn State University | $11,508 | $21,744 | $28,804 | $12,802 | $18,600 | 56 |
| Washington and Lee University | $31,850 | $0 | $39,792 | $25,106 | $17,105 | 69 |
| Macalaster College | $31,038 | $0 | $39,020 | $23,461 | $14,200 | 61 |
| Swarthmore College | $31,516 | $0 | $40,830 | $28,914 | $12,413 | 54 |
| Tufts University | $32,621 | $0 | $42,018 | $25,749 | $14,400 | 83 |
| University of Illinois | $8,688 | $22,774 | $29,950 | $9,714 | $15,526 | 55 |
| Brandeis University | $32,501 | $0 | $41,551 | $23,816 | $21,437 | 102 |
| New York University | $31,960 | $0 | $43,440 | $18,692 | $27,639 | 126 |
| Oberlin College | $34,426 | $0 | $43,146 | $23,508 | $17,800 | 113 |
| Case Western Reserve University | $31,738 | $0 | $41,018 | $28,931 | $20,597 | 78 |
| Ohio State University | $8,082 | $19,305 | $27,075 | $9,726 | $17,821 | 59 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | $34,578 | $0 | $43,858 | $22,143 | $26,500 | 125 |
| Cooper Union | $31,500 | $0 | $40,860 | $27,500 | $11,617 | 60 |
| Wake Forest University | $32,140 | $0 | $40,940 | $22,581 | $22,831 | 103 |
| University of Kansas | $5,413 | $13,866 | $19,718 | $7,025 | $17,243 | 14 |
| Texas A&M University | $6,399 | $14,679 | $21,631 | $8,781 | $15,927 | 17 |
| University of Washington | $5,620 | $19,917 | $27,081 | $10,400 | $15,210 | 36 |
| University of Minnesota | $8,622 | $20,252 | $26,974 | $11,007 | $19,500 | 50 |
| Davidson College | $30,194 | $0 | $38,784 | $18,024 | $22,954 | 98 |
| Wesleyan University | $35,144 | $0 | $44,684 | $28,880 | $22,395 | 120 |
| Kenyon College | $36,050 | $0 | $41,950 | $24,982 | $19,190 | 88 |
| University of Georgia | $4,628 | $16,848 | $23,224 | $7,320 | $13,422 | 19 |
| University of Iowa | $5,612 | $16,998 | $23,071 | $7,386 | $16,750 | 25 |
| Iowa State University | $5,634 | $15,724 | $21,921 | $7,738 | $27,324 | 31 |
| Wellesley College | $31,348 | $0 | $41,030 | $27,907 | $11,821 | 63 |
| U.S. Naval Academy | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 1 |
| Haverford College | $31,760 | $0 | $41,600 | $26,990 | $16,330 | 75 |
| Grinnell College | $29,030 | $0 | $36,730 | $22,426 | $16,496 | 58 |
| Vassar College | $36,030 | $0 | $44,160 | $25,296 | $17,314 | 108 |
| Brigham Young University | $3,410 | $0 | $9,200 | $4,168 | $12,478 | 4 |
| U.S. Air Force Academy | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | 1 |
| Boston University | $33,792 | $0 | $44,272 | $26,687 | $17,186 | 118 |
| University of Oklahoma | $4,408 | $12,301 | $18,662 | $8,745 | $18,494 | 11 |
| University of Arizona | $4,487 | $13,671 | $21,131 | $7,185 | $16,012 | 18 |
| Boston College | $33,506 | $0 | $44,226 | $27,292 | $15,723 | 106 |
| University of Alabama | $4,864 | $13,516 | $18,540 | $7,980 | $18,545 | 10 |
| Tulane University | $32,946 | $0 | $41,098 | $22,948 | $20,040 | 95 |
| Rutgers | $9,108 | $16,706 | $25,284 | $10,745 | $15,863 | 35 |
| Purdue University | $6,458 | $19,824 | $26,984 | $11,256 | $18,978 | 46 |
| Bates College | $42,100 | $0 | $42,100 | $25,836 | $13,986 | 67 |
| Michigan State University | $7,880 | $19,632 | $25,860 | $8,468 | $21,037 | 53 |
| Arizona State University | $4,407 | $15,095 | $22,245 | $8,300 | $17,016 | 22 |
| University of Arkansas | $5,495 | $13,222 | $19,587 | $8,260 | $17,204 | 13 |
| Louisiana State University | $4,515 | $12,815 | $19,145 | $8,006 | $19,258 | 15 |
| University of Miami | $31,288 | $0 | $40,622 | $23,709 | $19,140 | 90 |
| College of New Jersey | $9,707 | $14,970 | $23,428 | $11,010 | $17,673 | 33 |
| Florida State University | $3,208 | $16,340 | $23,118 | $8,269 | $16,647 | 24 |
| University of Kentucky | $5,812 | $12,798 | $18,027 | $7,861 | $17,510 | 9 |
| Bucknell University | $36,002 | $0 | $43,368 | $21,000 | $17,400 | 105 |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | $22,982 | $0 | $30,502 | $19,558 | $17,264 | 45 |
| Trinity University | $21,582 | $0 | $29,462 | $14,343 | $14,000 | 42 |
| Smith College | $32,558 | $0 | $43,438 | $29,766 | $25,023 | 110 |
| Bryn Mawr College | $33,010 | $0 | $43,560 | $27,582 | $17,018 | 101 |
| University of Nebraska | $5,540 | $14,450 | $20,311 | $8,245 | $16,909 | 12 |
| University of Colorado | $5,372 | $22,826 | $30,806 | $9,973 | $17,255 | 64 |
| University of Missouri | $7,745 | $17,522 | $23,767 | $10,676 | $17,907 | 30 |
| Villanova University | $29,618 | $0 | $38,980 | $20,503 | $28,549 | 104 |
| Abilene Christian University | $15,160 | $0 | $20,830 | $10,777 | $26,413 | 32 |
| Reed College | $32,590 | $0 | $41,106 | $24,122 | $15,879 | 81 |
| Indiana University | $7,112 | $19,508 | $25,748 | $6,840 | $21,251 | 57 |
| University of Mississippi | $4,320 | $9,744 | $14,442 | $7,532 | $11,658 | 3 |
| Oklahoma State University | $4,365 | $12,388 | $18,236 | $8,307 | $17,067 | 7 |
| University of Tennessee | $5,290 | $16,060 | $21,270 | $6,954 | $21,713 | 27 |
| Wheaton College | $22,450 | $0 | $29,490 | $18,445 | $18,717 | 47 |
| University of South Carolina | $7,314 | $18,956 | $25,039 | $9,501 | $18,699 | 34 |
| Lincoln University | $7,028 | $10,704 | $17,602 | $9,118 | $21,000 | 22 |
| North Dakota State University | $5,264 | $12,545 | $17,675 | $5,487 | $22,675 | 16 |
| Mount Holyoke College | $34,256 | $0 | $44,296 | $26,176 | $20,039 | 122 |
| St. Augustine's College | $11,428 | $0 | $17,272 | $11,387 | $10,416 | 6 |
| University of Oregon | $5,613 | $17,445 | $24,941 | $8,016 | $17,802 | 43 |
| Florida Southern College | $19,165 | $0 | $25,965 | $16,993 | $16,072 | 29 |
| College of the Atlantic | $28,140 | $0 | $35,850 | $24,478 | $16,705 | 48 |
| Gonzaga University | $23,860 | $0 | $30,560 | $13,724 | $23,113 | 73 |
| Sarah Lawrence College | $36,088 | $0 | $48,240 | $25,032 | $13,607 | 119 |
| North Central College | $21,933 | $0 | $28,926 | $18,447 | $13,527 | 28 |
| Methodist College | $19,080 | $0 | $26,250 | $15,822 | $19,989 | 44 |
| Adams State College | $2,853 | $9,123 | $15,263 | $4,586 | $15,975 | 5 |
| University of Cincinnati | $8,883 | $22,635 | $30,120 | $7,787 | $16,974 | 65 |
| Hollins University | $24,325 | $0 | $32,975 | $17,722 | $19,305 | 72 |
| Temple University | $9,640 | $17,236 | $25,424 | $12,927 | $25,493 | 52 |
| Rhode Island School of Design | $29,775 | $0 | $38,130 | $17,000 | $22,500 | 94 |
| Juilliard School | $25,610 | $0 | $35,705 | $21,298 | $21,447 | 85 |
| Tuskegee University | $12,985 | $0 | $20,095 | $13,824 | $30,000 | 41 |
| Culinary Institute of America | $20,775 | $0 | $27,595 | $11,229 | $18,000 | 61 |
| St. John's College (Md) | $34,506 | $0 | $42,776 | $22,262 | $18,125 | 108 |
| San Diego State University | $3,122 | $13,292 | $23,141 | $8,700 | $14,140 | 26 |
| New School University | $25,470 | $0 | $36,280 | $9,046 | $18,407 | 100 |
| DePaul University | $21,100 | $0 | $30,756 | $16,309 | $17,359 | 68 |