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From public schools, to private schools, to the Ivy Leagues, the cost of attending a university is an immense investment, which requires long term saving. While many argue that the cost of college nears outrageous, costs are only on the rise.
From public schools, to private schools, to the Ivy Leagues, the cost of attending a university is an immense investment, which requires long term saving. While many argue that the cost of college nears outrageous, costs are only on the rise.
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PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
The College Board estimates that students attending in-state public universities spend an average of $25,290 annually when factoring in tuition, housing, transportation, and book expenses. For out-of-state public university attendees, this average cost is closer to $40,940 a year (College Data 1).
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES
According to The College Board's combined estimates of tuition, housing, transportation, and book costs, the average total cost for students attending private schools is $50,900 a year. Therefore, the annual cost of attendence is almost equivalent to the yearly median household income for Americans (College Data 1).
Financial Aid
Financial Aid
When looking at financial aid on a broad spectrum, the aid amounted to those at public schools versus private schools are often compiled into the same database. The average amount aided to full time undergraduate students in 2016-2017 according to The College Board was $14,411. This would bring the total average cost of public universities down to $26,529 and the total average cost of private universities down to $36,489. The average amount of aid given as grants, sums of money that do not need to be payed back, adds to around $8,000. The rest of the "aid" is given in loans, which need to pay paid back in full, along with interest. Data from Credible (2) states that the typical interest rate on these loans is about 5% for undergraduates. This estimate suggests that interest rates on student loans are higher than those on the typical mortgage (USA Today 3).
IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS
IVY LEAGUE SCHOOLS
While they universally yield the best post-graduation employment opportunities, Ivy League schools are among the most costly universities in the country. These elite eight schools, with an average cost of $68,370 a year, remain largely unaffordable for the average American, especially when compared to the median annual American income of about $50,055. This means that to attend an Ivy League school, the average American must contribute one full year of income, plus almost $20,000 on top of that.
Information for this graph supplied by College Tuition Compare (4).
While these schools remain largely unaffordable for American students, future expenses suggest the worsening of this issue. When looking specifically at Tuition & Fees, as seen in the graph above, costs at all of the Ivy Leagues are expected to increase by next year.
The table above depicts the annual cost of each Ivy League University. Data for this table found at College Data (1).
Financial Aid
Financial Aid
To compensate for the outrageous cost of attendence, an average* of 50% of Ivy League students receive need-based grants to to decrease the cost of tuition. The average* student loan sum for students at Ivy League schools totals $18,728, which is about half of the average for college graduates in 2017.
*These averages were calculated based on information from The Washington Post (5), yet they do not include data from Columbia University, which declined to release student financial figures.
Best Return on Investment
Best Return on Investment
According to The Atlantic (6), "Better schools yield bigger paychecks" because Ivy League schools generally hold the best reputations and open the most doors for students entering the workforce, students graduating from these prestegious schools are more likely to obtain high paying jobs than those who graduated from private or public universities. In addition to the various opportunities only Ivy Leagues can supply, the more money a school has, the better the resources they can offer students. It was also found that “students who went to more expensive schools consistently outearned their peers during life after college.” With the combination of some of the best opportunities for students and the relatively low debt students pay after attending these schools, Ivy Leagues generally prove to have the best return on investment for students.
An NPR podcast on the cost of college turning young adults away from their first choice college: https://www.npr.org/2014/05/02/308899244/money-factors-into-high-school-seniors-college-decision (7).
For more information on how the cost of college extends past graduation, check out our page on Debt and the Ancillary Effect.
References
References
1. “What's the Price Tag for a College Education?” College Data, 1st Financial Bank USA.
2. “What Are Average Student Loan Interest Rates in 2018?” Credible, 18 May 2018.
3. “Average Rate on 30-Year Home Loan 4.37%.” USA Today, 27 Feb. 2014.
4. “Ivy League 2017-2018 Tuition & Fees Comparison and 2019 Estimation.” College Tuition Compare.
5. Anderson, Nick. “Here's a Look at Financial Aid in the Ivy League, by the Numbers.” The Washington Post, 17 May 2016.
6. Weissman, Jordan. “Does It Matter Where You Go to College.” The Atlantic, The Atlantic Monthly Group, 17 May 2012.
7. Many Seniors Accepted To First-Choice Colleges Go Elsewhere, NPR, 2 May 2014, www.npr.org/2014/05/02/308899244/money-factors-into-high-school-seniors-college-decision. Accessed 23 May 2018.
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