Posted on 10/11/2011 8:31:13 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
This year instead of going to Sarah Lawrence, you could buy three Toyota Corollas, and still have $10,000 left over.
CampusGrotto.com has released their rankings of the most expensive colleges in the country — fees and housing included.
Sarah Lawrence has topped the list four years in a row (at nearly $60,000), but they’re not terribly lonely atop the list. Nineteen universities now charge more than $55,000.
When Campus Grotto started the rankings in 2007, only one school’s tuition and fees topped $50,000 (GW) — now 111 do.
I’ll be blunt. It’s not worth it.
Welcome to the 5th annual ranking of most expensive colleges compiled by Campus Grotto. While the names on this list haven’t changed much over the years, the numbers sure have. When we first started ranking colleges by cost back in 2007, only one school (GWU) had a total cost of over $50K, now 111 do. Back then, not a single school had tuition over $40K, now 80 have passed that mark. There are now nineteen universities charging over $55,000 (just one last year), and that’s not even including the cost of textbooks.
Sarah Lawrence College is once again named the most expensive college by total cost for the 2011-2012 school year, marking the 4th year in a row the school has topped the ranking. Is it worth the money? Who knows, but the college does boast one of the lowest student-teacher ratios in the country and all students receive one-on-one weekly guidance from faculty.
It's important to note that these numbers are the ‘sticker prices’ for each institution for the 2011-2012 school year. Just because these schools have high tuition does not mean you will actually be paying that amount. Many schools will provide a financial aid package that meets 100% of a student's financial need (Cost of Attendance - Estimated Family Contribution). While going to college is still expensive, many of the colleges here offer great financial aid packages. To get a better idea of what you will actually be paying at each school, be sure to use the net price calculator that every college is required to have on their website starting October 29th (Thanks to the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008). Hopefully these calculators will give students (and their parents) a better idea of what they will actually be paying before applying.
Knowing colleges provide great financial aid packages, we hope to take these total cost numbers and apply the average grant each school gives to figure the typical out-of-pocket expense for these schools. The Department of Education recently 'ranked' a list of expensive schools by net price. While interesting, the tuition figures were a bit outdated as they were taken from the 2009-2010 school year. By us being able to provide the net price for the 2011-2012 school year, we will have this data out nearly two years ahead of the Dept. of Ed. Look for this in the coming weeks. Check back or sign up to receive our latest articles by email to be notified when this is available.
You will see all of the schools on this list are private colleges. Public schools are more affordable, but it should be noted they are rising in price faster than private schools. For the first time schools once considered affordable, like Cal Berkeley and UCLA, are nearly making the top 100 most expensive list with their nonresident tuition (listed at 115 and 120, respectively). (No wonder they are protesting over tuition increases.)
We start by taking a look at tuition.
| College | Tuition |
| 1. Middlebury College | $45,935 |
| 2. Sarah Lawrence College | $44,220 |
| 3. The George Washington University | $44,103 |
| 4. Vassar College | $44,050 |
| 5. Connecticut College | $43,990 |
| 6. Bucknell University | $43,628 |
| 7. Wesleyan University | $43,404 |
| 8. St. John's College | $43,256 |
| 9. University of Richmond | $43,170 |
| 10. Carnegie Mellon University | $43,160 |
When required fees are added onto tuition, the rankings change slightly, mainly because some schools (Columbia, Penn, Harvard) have fees that total a couple thousand dollars.
| College | Tuition + Fees |
| 1. Middlebury College | $46,315 |
| 2. Columbia University | $45,290 |
| 3. Sarah Lawrence College | $45,212 |
| 4. Vassar College | $44,705 |
| 5. The George Washington University | $44,148 |
| 6. Trinity College (CT) | $44,070 |
| 7. Connecticut College | $43,990 |
| 8. Bucknell University | $43,866 |
| 9. Carnegie Mellon University | $43,812 |
| 10. Wesleyan University | $43,674 |
Room and board is another cost that is often overlooked. Many colleges in the urban areas of New York, Boston, and the California coast have room and board expenses that run $13,000-$14,000 per year. Our favorite example is with NYU, who ranks 91st in tuition, but when factoring in room and board they become the 2nd most expensive college. Here we add the cost of a typical double room plus meal plan charged by each college to get the total cost to attend the college.
| College | Total Cost |
| 1. Sarah Lawrence College | $59,170 |
| 2. New York University | $56,787 |
| 3. Columbia University | $56,310 |
| 4. Harvey Mudd College | $55,998 |
| 5. Eugene Lang College (The New School) | $55,890 |
| 6. Claremont McKenna College | $55,865 |
| 7. Wesleyan University | $55,706 |
| 8. Bard College | $55,617 |
| 9. Barnard College | $55,566 |
| 10. Trinity College (CT) | $55,450 |
| 11. University of Chicago | $55,416 |
| 12. University of Southern California | $55,384 |
| 13. Dartmouth College | $55,365 |
| 14. Drexel University | $55,335 |
| 15. Bates College | $55,300 |
| 16. Johns Hopkins University | $55,242 |
| 17. Vassar College | $55,135 |
| 18. Bard College at Simon's Rock | $55,110 |
| 19. Haverford College | $55,050 |
| 20. Pitzer College | $54,988 |
| 21. Fordham University - Lincoln Center | $54,972 |
| 22. Connecticut College | $54,970 |
| 23. Bennington College | $54,960 |
| 24. Occidental College | $54,950 |
| 25. Carnegie Mellon University | $54,922 |
Data compiled by CampusGrotto.com
RE: I’ll be blunt. It’s not worth it.
So, where does one go to for college?
Did you look at the list?
The schools Barack Obama went to as an undergraduate are on the most expensive list -— Columbia and Occidental.
Like a who’s who of Brainwashed U.
A little gem that is overlooked and tuition free: Cooper Union - New York.
at least 12 of the schools on that list are what I see as middling, upper middle class, politically-correct indoctrination puppy mills that charge stupidly high prices, yet don’t have the cachet of a Harvard or Yale.
It may depend on their endowments as to how long they can last, but I generally see these schools as facing a major crisis in the not-to-distant future, as reality starts to hit.
No. I mean that unless you go to college to actually learn a tangible skill like accounting, engineering, brain surgery, etc., it’s not worth the investment. The higher ed bubble is about to burst. One can get all the education they need other than hard skills as mentioned above for a LOT cheaper than what most universities charge.
Sure, no degree will cause some bumps in the road at first, but the same four years spent at actual jobs will give you as much or more education, in many areas that MATTER, than a four year degree. And once you reach 30, decent employers are gonna want to know what you’ve done with your education, as opposed to the color and size of your shingle.
IOW, they care what you have DONE with your adult life as opposed to what school attempted to cram into your scull.
Jobs was a college dropout. Gates was a college drop out. A friend of mine who is CIO of a MAJOR us corporation (household word) never even bothered with college. And I am a college drop out.
College is WAY over rated unless you REALLY need that crutch. ‘Nuff said.
—It may depend on their endowments as to how long they can last, but I generally see these schools as facing a major crisis in the not-to-distant future, as reality starts to hit.—
There has been a lot of speculation over the last year or so that we are about to see the higher education bubble burst.
In the 35 years since I first attended college, the tuition at my school has increased by over 1000%. Since graduation, my paycheck has not exactly kept pace.
It’s amazing, colleges (many of them supported by State taxpayers) are increasing tuition at a rate of 7-9% every year - every single year.
The land is set aside for education, taxes are relatively low, most of the state colleges have building nearing 100 years of age - yet the Professors and other teacher’s have wages that continue to escalate.
Have you ever heard of a state college, or any college for that matter “Down-sizing” or hiring “H1-B” Visa holders to drive teacher salaries down?
I’ve never had a job that had the stability, nor the wage increases that are present in many colleges and universities - perhaps they should be ran like a business. When students realize that this money has to be re-paid; and parents balk at the outrageoius tuitions - this house of cards is going to come tumbling down. And, if recent history is any indicator - our tax dollars will be used to build that house of cards back up.
In the same vein, and a bit off topic. I like to show people a stack of ten Morgan silver dollars I have and say that they were worth ten dollars when they were minted in the 20’s and they were worth ten dollars in 1972. Now they are worth $400.
Why is that?
:-p
Two years of a community college then two years at a technical college.
So true!
Having just watched a major home renovation I’m impressed with the skills, knowlege and innovation by contractor- tradesmen; electricians, plumbers etc., Mostly young white guys and older, legal immigrants. They need math, chemistry and problem solving abilities. Many are self-employed entrepreneurs who take pride in their work and earn their income. Some have college degrees that are of no use - a few younger guys plan to return to school for engineering or architectural degrees. Better to love what you do and do it well than get an expensive indoctrination in Useless U.
In general, college doesn't teach you anything worthwhile (aside from the hard skills you mentioned).
All it is, is "the secret handshake" that opens some doors for you. A lot of the smartest people I've ever worked with didn't have a college degree. Unfortunately, this was usually an impediment to their advancing. That was a great loss for not only the employee, but the employer.
RE: Two years of a community college then two years at a technical college.
Isn’t it true that most students don’t pay the full tuition and get some sort of aid because these colleges have huge endownments?
Read something recently that made a good point about trade skill training. Upper collegiate studies are now nothing more than propaganda to certain corporations and kissing up to the professors of the Ivy League schools. Screw them and their Marxist agendas. Get a skill boys and girls.
RE: All it is, is “the secret handshake” that opens some doors for you
Isn’t that worth the money though? After all, it’s often WHO you know. I suspect that a lot of the Ivy Leaguers get their initial positions because of their contacts in college.
I mean, imagine being the classmate of Dubya and being his drinking buddy at Yale....
89. MIT $52,507
This alumnus proposes that if you get a 4-year degree from MIT you’ll get your money back over time. Especially since a) if your family makes < $75K/year tuition is waived, b) 69% of all students get financial aid and c) the average financial aid package there is ~ $39K.
89. MIT $52,507
This alumnus proposes that if you get a 4-year degree from MIT you’ll get your money back over time. Especially since a) if your family makes < $75K/year tuition is waived, b) 69% of all students get financial aid and c) the average financial aid package there is ~ $39K.
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