Costs at some colleges nearing $100,000 per year, but many families pay a lot less

The
price
tag
for
a

college
education
has
never
been
higher
—
and
it’s
only
going
up.

The
cost
of
attendance
at
some
schools,
including
New
York
University,
Tufts,
Brown,
Yale,
and
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis,
is
now
nearing
six
figures
a
year,
after
factoring
in
tuition,
fees,
room
and
board,
books,
transportation
and
other
expenses.

Among
the
schools
on
The
Princeton
Review’s “The
Best
389
Colleges” list
that
have
already
set
their
costs
for
the
2024-25
academic
year, eight
institutions
have
a

sticker
price
of
more
than
$90,000
per
year
so
far,
according
to
data
provided
to
CNBC.

Considering
that
tuition
adjustments
average
roughly
4%
a
year,
those
institutions
—
and
others
—
could
cross
the

$100,000
threshold
as
soon
as
2026,
according
to
an
estimate
by
Bryan
Alexander,
a
senior
scholar
at
Georgetown
University.

However,
that’s
not
what
many
families
pay.

More
from
Personal
Finance:

FAFSA
fiasco
may
cause
drop
in
college
enrollment,
experts
say

Harvard
is
back
on
top
as
the
ultimate ‘dream’
school

This
could
be
the
best
year
to
lobby
for
more
college
financial
aid

“Crossing
a
school
off
the
list
of
consideration
based
on
sticker
price
alone
is
a
mistake,”
said
Robert
Franek,
editor-in-chief
of
The
Princeton
Review.

He
said
about
two-thirds
of
all
full-time
students
receive
aid,
which
can
bring
the
cost
significantly
down. 

The
Princeton
Review
even
ranked
colleges by
how
much financial
aid is
awarded and
how
satisfied
students
are
with
their
packages.

These
are
the
colleges
that
came
out
on
top.

At
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis,
for
example,
the
average
scholarship
award
is
just
over
$65,000
per
year,
The
Princeton
Review
found,
which
brings
the
total
out-of-pocket
cost
closer
to
$26,000.

In
fact,
when
it
comes
to offering
aid,
private
schools
typically
have
more
money
to
spend,
Franek
said.

“When
you
factor
in
the
average
grant,
these
schools
become
some
of
the
most
affordable
in
the
country,”
he
said.

The
amount
families
actually
spent
on
education
costs
in
the
2022-23
academic
year
was,
on
average,
$28,026,
according
to
Sallie
Mae’s
annual
How
America
Pays
for
College

report.

While
parental
income
and
savings
cover
nearly
half
of
college
costs,
free
money
from scholarships and
grants
accounts
for
a
more
than
a
quarter
of
the
costs,
and student
loans make
up
most
of
the
rest,
the
education
lender
found.

The
U.S.
Department
of
Education
awards
about
$120
billion
every
year
to
help
students
pay
for
higher
education.
And
beyond
federal
aid,
students
could
also
be
eligible
for
financial
assistance
from
their
state
or
college.

But
students
must
first
fill
out
the
Free
Application
for
Federal
Student
Aid,
which
serves
as the
gateway to
all
federal
money,
including
loans,
work-study
and
grants.

This
year,

problems with
the
new FAFSA have discouraged many
students
and
their
families
from
completing
an
application.

As
of
the
last
tally,

6.6
million
FAFSA
forms
have
been
submitted.
That’s
a
fraction
of
the
approximately
17
million
students
who
use
the
FAFSA
form
in
ordinary
years.
And
under
the
new
aid
formula,
an
additional
2.1
million
students
should
be
eligible
for
the
maximum
Pell
Grant,
according
to
the Department of
Education.

“You
cannot
get
away
from
the
value
of
the
FAFSA
form
even
in
these
difficult
times,”
Franek
said. “This
is
the
key
for
unlocking
the
majority
of
financial
aid
dollars.”

Already,
high
school
graduates
miss
out
on
billions
in
federal
grants
because
they
don’t
fill
out
the
FAFSA,
experts
say. 

In
total,
the
high
school
Class
of
2022
left
an
estimated
$3.6
billion
of
unclaimed
Pell
Grant
dollars

on
the
table,
according
to a
report from
the
National
College
Attainment
Network. 

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