Expensive Colleges

“A university is what a college becomes when the faculty loses interest in students.” - John Ciardi

I thought college was expensive nearly 30 years ago when I attended. I also learned then that there is an “education inflation rate” that is always higher than national inflation rate. Back in the 80’s the rate of educational inflation was 10%. So it should come as no surprise that rates today are outrageous. With tuition hikes outpacing the growth of household incomes year after year. student borrowing has doubled in the past decade.

Here are the most expensive colleges by total cost for the 2009-2010 school year from CampusGrotto.com

Total Cost = Tuition + Room and Board
1. Sarah Lawrence College, $54,410
2. New York University, $51,991
3. The George Washington University, $51,730
4. Bates College, $51,300
5. Skidmore College, $51,196
6. Johns Hopkins University, $51,190
7. Georgetown University, $51,122
8. Connecticut College, $51,115
9. Harvey Mudd College, $51,037
10. Vassar College, $50,875

The lowest total cost in the top 100 most expensive schools was $46,860 for just a single year of study.

Bottom Line

See The Rising Cost of Education for more information and what to do.

See also my post on Student Loans