Paying for college is expensive, and many families have felt the pinch of rising tuition costs over time.
College tuition prices are a lot higher today compared with two decades ago. For instance, the average cost for tuition and fees among ranked private National Universities — schools that are often research-oriented and offer bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees — has risen by about 40% since 2004 when accounting for inflation, according to U.S. News data.
Higher education policy analysts say most of the hikes in tuition among private and public four-year institutions coincided with the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009. The economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic may also affect tuition costs in the years to come, especially due to high rates of inflation and other recessionary factors.
In comparing the 2022-2023 school year to 2023-2024, the average price at all ranked private colleges increased by about 4%, according to data reported to U.S. News by 976 schools in an annual survey. Meanwhile, tuition hikes for both in-state and out-of-state students at ranked public schools were slightly less, rising by 2% and about 1.4%, respectively, from the prior year.
“There may be times when the state level of support works in an institutional budget, so it allows (public schools) to keep their increases at a minimum,” says MorraLee Keller, senior director of strategic programming at the National College Attainment Network. “But at a private institution, where the main form of institutional income is derived through tuition, you only have one place to go. And that’s to increase your income.”
However, the year-over-year numbers look a little different when inflation is considered. Tuition and fees at private ranked colleges decreased by 0.4%, while at public ranked schools they declined by about 2% for in-state students and about 3% for out-of-state students.
About 78% of families said they eliminated a college from consideration at some point in the research and application process due to cost, according to the 2023 Sallie Mae/Ipsos survey How America Pays for College. But many higher education experts recommend that prospective students look beyond published prices, since the tuition listed may not be the actual amount they’ll pay after financial aid and institutional grants.
For college-bound students and their families, here’s what to know about tuition costs.
[Read: Is College Worth the Cost? Factors to Consider]
How Much Is College Tuition?
Tuition and fees vary from college to college.
In looking at schools ranked by U.S. News, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2023-2024 school year is $42,162 at private colleges, $23,630 for out-of-state students at public universities and $10,662 for in-state residents at public schools. That is, the average tuition and fees to attend an in-state public college are nearly 75% less than the average sticker price charged at a private institution, according to U.S. News data.
At public two-year institutions, tuition and fees cost $3,860 on average for in-state, in-district students in 2022-2023, according to data collected in the College Board’s annual survey, Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2022.
What Are the Differences Between Tuition and Fees?
The biggest chunk of college costs is usually tuition — the amount of money required for instruction. Especially at the undergraduate level, students are often required to pay fees, and these additional costs usually need to be paid to enroll in and attend class.
“The word ‘fees’ can have multiple meanings,” Keller says. “General fees are going to be the fees that are charged to every single student on campus. And then there are going to be fees that may be associated with a student’s particular major or level in school.”
Nate Johnson, founder and principal of Postsecondary Analytics, a Florida-based higher education research firm, says students and parents should look to college guides that standardize these amounts for apples-to-apples comparisons. (U.S. News Best Colleges standardizes sticker prices, listing the combined published prices of tuition and fees for each school.)
How Do I Use a Tuition Calculator?
The cost of attendance isn’t always clear, since many families don’t pay the sticker price once financial aid and institutional grants are factored into the bill. So experts advise families to fill out the net price calculator, which is available on each college’s website — a federal requirement.
Net price is the amount students pay to attend an institution for an academic year after subtracting scholarships and grants. In essence, net price is the final out-of-pocket price a family can expect to pay, and it’s often lower than the published price.
The Department of Education’s College Scorecard includes links to schools’ net price calculators. These calculators — furnished with first-time, full-time undergraduate students in mind — produce estimated values based on the information the student or parent provides.
Which Colleges Are the Least Expensive?
When it comes to published prices, attending a state school as an in-state student might be the least expensive option among four-year colleges. Johnson says that’s because “everyone who goes to those schools in effect is getting a scholarship — a discount in the cost of education paid by taxpayers.”
He notes that students who choose to go out of state for college forfeit that subsidy. However, a few regions and states have tuition reciprocity programs. For example, under the New England Board of Higher Education’s Tuition Break program, formerly known as the Regional Student Program, residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont may be eligible to receive discounted tuition at out-of-state public colleges and universities within New England.
Prices among public schools across the country vary. State schools in Florida, followed by Wyoming, charged in-state, full-time students the least on average in 2022-2023 among four-year public colleges, according to the College Board. New Hampshire and Vermont had the most expensive published tuition and fees, on average, for full-time, in-state students.
Tuition and fees at flagship universities for in-state students often cost more compared with other colleges and universities in the state. For example, the University of Virginia‘s in-state published price for the 2023-2024 year — $22,323 — is about 64% more than the in-state sticker price of $13,576 at James Madison University in Virginia.
“If you’re thinking about schools within the state where tuition can vary, then it’s a question of whether the college that you’re looking at that’s more expensive can offer more value because it offers programs that make it worth paying a bit more,” Johnson says.
Higher education experts say students shouldn’t rule out private schools, which often offer tuition discounts that may make them competitive with state school prices. This practice among private institutions of offering grants, scholarships and fellowships to offset the sticker price is known as tuition discounting.
According to a report from the National Association of College and University Business Officers, 341 private nonprofit institutions discounted their tuition by an average of 56% for first-time, first-year, full-time undergraduate students and by 51% for all undergrads in 2022-2023 — an estimated record high for both.
[Read: The Cost of Private vs. Public Colleges.]
Which Colleges Are the Most Expensive?
Per U.S. News data, the colleges with the highest published prices are Kenyon College in Ohio and Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania. These National Liberal Arts Colleges — schools that emphasize undergraduate education and award at least half their degrees in the liberal arts field of study — charge $69,330 and $68,380, respectively, for their 2023-2024 tuition and fees. But many students pay less than the published amount to attend.
“While private colleges generally look more expensive on paper, students often pay far less than the listed cost of attendance,” Kimberly Lord, an IvyWise college admissions counselor and former senior associate director of admission at Vassar College in New York, wrote in an email. “Private institutions have greater flexibility to leverage financial aid packages and merit scholarships to attract students. And, schools with large endowments are often able to meet a student’s full demonstrated need, in many cases without offering loans, only grants and scholarships.”
Some schools with expensive published prices offer substantial financial aid packages.
In fact, Princeton University in New Jersey, Harvard University in Massachusetts and Stanford University in California, to name a few, meet undergraduate students’ full demonstrated need with no loans added to any financial aid package.
While these schools charge tuition and fees ranging from $59,076 at Harvard to $62,484 at Stanford for the 2023-2024 academic year, they rank highly among U.S. News’ Best Value Schools. This ranking takes into account academic quality and the total net cost of attendance — including room and board, transportation, books and other expenses — for an out-of-state student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.
Princeton, for example, provided need-based grants to about 61% of full-time undergraduates in the 2022-2023 school year. The average cost of attendance that year after receiving grants was $17,464.
That’s why students should pay attention to net price and not just sticker price, experts say. While some schools may look more costly based on sticker price, they actually may cost less on average based on net price.
Which Schools Offer Free Tuition?
A handful of colleges and universities are tuition-free, but these institutions usually require work or service in exchange.
Students at the United States Naval Academy in Maryland and United States Military Academy at West Point in New York, for example, are required to serve in those respective branches of the military after graduation. In return, tuition, room and board are free. Three other service academies have similar arrangements: the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut and the United States Merchant Marine Academy in New York.
Other institutions that offer tuition-free education stipulate certain requirements, such as in-school employment. Alice Lloyd College in Kentucky and Warren Wilson College in North Carolina require full-time undergraduates to work a set number of hours at on-campus jobs.
[Read: How to Pay for College Using These Overlooked Strategies.]
Are There States With Tuition-Free College Programs?
Of the 441 existing college “promise” programs, which offer scholarships to eligible students to cover up to 100% of their tuition and fees, 132 are statewide, according to the nonprofit College Promise website. Most of these statewide programs are at the two-year institution level, but New York, for example, offers its Excelsior Scholarship at the two- and four-year degree levels.
Statewide programs typically have certain guidelines for students to qualify, including residency or household income. Other requirements range from holding a high school diploma to a minimum GPA. The Delaware Student Excellence Equals Degree scholarship program, for example, typically requires a 2.5 minimum cumulative high school GPA, or for home-schooled students either a combined SAT score of 1350 or an ACT composite score of 19 plus a complete home-schooled academic transcript.
Some promise programs are open to adult learners. The Kansas City Scholars Adult Learner Scholarship, for example, provides up to $10,000 per year for up to five years to part-time and full-time students ages 24 and older who fall in the low- to modest-income bracket. Students must live in one of the six eligible counties, among other criteria.
More than 300 promise programs exist at the local level, according to College Promise.
Tuition-free does not necessarily mean completely free, however, given the full cost of attending college. Families must also pay attention to related educational costs like room and board, books, supplies and transportation, experts say.
“A college education can provide a pathway toward a better living and a better life for students, so it’s a missed opportunity anytime anyone has to postpone their college dreams for financial reasons,” says Mamie Voight, president and CEO at the nonprofit Institute for Higher Education Policy. “Costs beyond a student’s budget — whether they be high tuition prices, an unexpected book expense, a car repair or an electric bill — can be the difference between completing a degree or needing to pause one’s studies before earning a credential.”
Cost is a key part of the college decision-making process, but it shouldn’t be the only driving factor, Voight adds. Rather, the overall return on investment should also be evaluated.
Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.
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What to Know About College Tuition Costs originally appeared on usnews.com
Update 09/20/23: This story was published at an earlier date and has been updated with new information.
