The nation's 'priciest' colleges according to the US Department of Education

Miami of Ohio University

As part of the Obama Administration’s efforts to keep tabs on college cost, the U.S. Department of Education recently updated lists on its College Affordability and Transparency Center website.

This nifty site is designed to showcase the highest (top 5%) and lowest (bottom 10%) tuition amounts charged by the nation’s colleges and universities.

With data collected by the federal government, it's  possible to generate separate reports ranking total tuition and required fees as one metric and total net price as another (note that net price is defined as the cost of attendance minus grant and scholarship aid).

While the intent of the website was originally to help Congress get a fix on schools charging chronically high tuition, it can also be helpful to students and families concerned about costs. Even with a few computational glitches and some loud complaints from  colleges named, it’s useful information to have.

And a number of local institutions made the lists.  The College of William and Mary (6), St. Mary’s College of Maryland (9), and the Virginia Military Institute (12) appear among the top five percent for tuition and fees.  St. Mary’s College of Maryland (8), Christopher Newport University (9) and Virginia Tech (19) are listed as being among public institutions with the highest net price. 

Among local private, not-for-profit institutions, George Washington University (8), St. John’s College (25), the University of Richmond (54), Johns Hopkins University (47),  and Georgetown (64), are ranked in the top 5 percent for tuition and required fees. Note that none of these schools appears on the list of schools with the highest net prices. 

  

The following are private not-for-profit four-year institutions posting the highest tuition and fees (national average-$24,269):

1. Landmark College ($49,630)
2. Columbia University, NY ($49,138)
3. Sarah Lawrence College ($48,696)
4. Vassar College ($47,890)
5. Carnegie Mellon University ($47,642)
6. University of Chicago ($47,514)
7. Trinity College ($47,510)
8. George Washington University ($47,343)
9. Wesleyan University ($47,244)
10. Tulane University ($46,930)
11. Bucknell University ($46,902)
12. Oberlin College ($46,870)
13. Union College ($46,785)
14. Dartmouth College ($46,752)
15. Bard College at Simon’s Rock ($46,713)

Public baccalaureate institutions with highest net prices based on in-state tuition (national average-$11,877):

1. Miami of Ohio University ($24,247)
2. Colorado School of Mines ($23,759)
3. Pennsylvania State University—Main Campus ($23,161)
4. University of Pittsburgh ($22,341)
5. University of New Hampshire—Main Campus ($21,545)
6. Pennsylvania College of Technology ($21,263)
7. Temple University ($20,670)
8. Pennsylvania State University—Erie-Behrend ($20,587)
9. St. Mary’s College of Maryland ($20,578)
10. Christopher Newport University ($20,328)
11. University of Colorado Boulder ($20,294)
12. Pennsylvania State University—Altoona ($20,250)
13. West Chester University of Pennsylvania ($19,407)
14. Pennsylvania State University—Harrisburg ($19,394)
15. University of Cincinnati ($19,310)