Most Expensive College in the US (2005)

Written by: tom Filed Under: Luxury, United States on December 18th, 2005

This post has been archived, for more recent information please see America’s Most Expensive Colleges

Tuition is always thought of as expensive but degrees are often an investment that pays in the long run. But when looking at figures for the most expensive colleges in the United States, it is easy to see that some universities make one incur many more costs. One would think expensive tuitions would be a deterrent to students wishing to undertake higher education, and only children of rich parents would go to the most expensive colleges in the US, but this may not be so. Many schools set tuition prices to maximize grant money and then use financial aid to set the ‘real’ tuition.

Another reason advertised tuition prices are on the rise is that being one of the most expensive colleges carries prestige, especially at top schools, and huge scholarships are a powerful tool to attract students. Private schools use this strategy of percieved value, being a more expensive school, to make people think the school has a lot to offer. Being one of the most expensive colleges lets the school charge wealthier students more and use the money for extra aid to low-income students.

We have found the most expensive college and most expensive unversity numbers for you to view below representing the 2004-05 costs gathered by the College Board. Numbers are calculated from tuition and required fees associated with first-time, full-time undergraduates at four-year undergraduate colleges and universities that award at least half their baccalaureate degrees in liberal arts fields and are based on a nine-month academic year of 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours. Prices used for public colleges and universities only consider in-state residents.

Most expensive private colleges or universities:

  1. Sarah Lawrence College — Bronxville, N.Y. $32,416
  2. Kenyon College — Gambier, Ohio $32,170
  3. Trinity College — Hartford, Conn. $31,940
  4. George Washington University — Washington. $31,710
  5. Hamilton College — Clinton, N.Y. $31,700
  6. Bowdoin College — Brunswick, Maine $31,656
  7. Wesleyan University — Middletown, Conn. $31,650
  8. Columbia University — New York $31,472
  9. Colgate University — Hamilton, N.Y. $31,440
  10. Pitzer College – Claremont, Calif. $31,438

Most expensive public colleges or universities:

  1. Penn State University — University Park, Pa. $10,856
  2. University of Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh $10,830
  3. University of Vermont — Burlington, Vt. $10,226
  4. University of New Hampshire — Durham, N.H. $9,226
  5. New Jersey Institute of Technology — Newark, N.J. $9,180
  6. Temple University — Philadelphia, Pa. $9,102
  7. University of Massachusetts — Amherst, Mass. $9,008
  8. Rutgers University — New Brunswick, N.J. $8,564
  9. University of Cincinnati — Cincinnati $8,379
  10. Rutgers University — Newark, N.J. $8,209

Source: College Board

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(8) Comments

8 comments...What do you think?

  1. Posted by Vanderpm 4th April, 2006 at 3:11 am

    I’d be curious to see the cost of the non-liberal arts colleges.

  2. Posted by ol 23rd April, 2006 at 6:24 am

    english schools are much more mine is a normal one and it is $30,000 but the most expensive is eton at $47,376

  3. Posted by cory 1st May, 2006 at 2:18 pm

    i don’t know how recent this article is but the university of richmond’s tuition is 34,000+, for the year of 05-06, so where would a more recent list including new tuition prices be?

  4. Posted by Matt 7th June, 2006 at 10:22 pm

    I belive temple is much more than listed, and I think Villanova should be among the most expensive private schools.

  5. Posted by Ruthie Carter 2nd July, 2006 at 4:24 pm

    True, it is quite mocking to not have enough money to attend a certain university, but, if so many people pay that vast amount of money each year, you may not see it at the current time, but you’ll get more KNOWLEDGE of the world around you, and what you want to learn. So many people around the world are greatly revered by going to these schools, there’s bound to be an advantage of going to these school’s, instead of your everyday across the street community college.

  6. Posted by ndallthwy113 30th July, 2006 at 9:02 pm

    where is notre dame????????

  7. Posted by Ruby 6th March, 2007 at 7:11 pm

    THIS IS SAD. MY DAUGHTERS PRIVATE SCHOOL IS $30,440 A YEAR!

  8. Posted by Phillipe Gregory 13th September, 2007 at 8:18 am

    School should be free…………I mean think about it…..all U.S. citizens with the highest education…..we would be untouchable!!!!!!!!OK, OK I’m awake now!!LOL

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