Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, which has the distinction of being the most expensive college in the United States, charges a whopping $40,350 for tuition and fees. Add in room and board and the bill tops $53,000. And that's just for freshman year.
College costs are outpacing inflation. Tuition at private colleges rose 5.9 percent in the 2008-2009 academic year, while tuition at state universities rose 6.4 percent, compared to a year ago, according to a College Board report. The consumer price index over the same period rose 5.6 percent.
The average published cost of annual tuition and fees at private four-year colleges is $25,143, up $1,398 from a year ago, while state schools' tuition and fees for in-state students averages $6,585, up $394 from a year ago. And those numbers don't include room and board, which is typically about $8,000 but can be as high as $13,000 depending on the college.
The top 10 most expensive colleges for the 2008-2009 school year:
No. 1: Sarah Lawrence College
Bronxville, New York
Tuition and Fees: $40,350
Room and Board: $13,104
Total Cost: $53,454
No. 2: George Washington University
Washington, D.C.
Tuition and Fees: $40,437
Room and Board: $9,920
Total Cost: $50,357
No. 3: Georgetown University
Washington, D.C.
Tuition and Fees: $38,122
Room and Board: $12,153
Total Cost: $50,275
No. 4: Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
Tuition and Fees: $38,213
Room and Board: $12,028
Total Cost: $50,241
No. 5: University of Chicago
Chicago, Illinois
Tuition and Fees: $38,492
Room and Board: $11,697
Total Cost: $50,189
No. 6: New York University
New York, New York
Tuition and Fees: $37,372
Room and Board: $12,810
Total Cost: $50,182
No. 7: Carnegie Mellon University
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Tuition and Fees: $39,754
Room and Board: $10,050
Total Cost: $49,804
No. 8: Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland
Tuition and Fees: $38,200
Room and Board: $11,578
Total Cost: $49,778
No. 9: Boston College
Boston, Massachusetts
Tuition and Fees: $37,950
Room and Board: $11,610
Total Cost: $49,560
No. 10: Bard College
Annandale-on-Hudson, NY
Tuition and Fees: $38,604
Room and Board: $10,866
Total Cost: $49,470
(Source: Business Week)
So do only the wealthy need apply? Not necessarily. Although it helps if Daddy's checkbook is fat, many of these very expensive colleges offer generous financial aid packages. About two-thirds of full-time college students receive some form of grant aid that lowers their tuition costs.
--From the Editors at Netscape
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