Paying for college is expensive, and many families have felt the pinch of rising tuition costs over time.

College tuition prices are a lot higher today compared with two decades ago. For instance, the average cost for tuition and fees among ranked public and private National Universities – schools that are often research-oriented and offer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees – has risen significantly since 2001, according to U.S. News data.

Higher education policy analysts say most of the hikes in tuition among private and public four-year institutions coincided with the Great Recession.

From the 2008 edition of the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings to the current 2022 edition, in-state tuition prices among public National Universities grew by almost 79%. Experts say state schools have typically had more room to increase tuition levels compared with their private counterparts, and finding a bargain price at the state level is becoming harder.

The economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic may also affect tuition costs in the years to come.

In just comparing the 2020-2021 school year to the current 2021-2022 academic year, tuition rates at both private and public National Universities have increased by at least 2%, according to U.S. News data.

"Not-for-profit private schools are having a very difficult time because too many of them don't have diversified funding streams to climb out of a recession, and so many lost students," says Martha Kanter, CEO of College Promise, an advocacy group. "So they are trying to recoup enrollment and rebalance their budget."

Given these higher tuition prices, 4 in 10 high school students rate cost as "most important" when making their college selection, according to the 2021 Fidelity Investments survey College Savings & Student Debt.

Many higher education experts recommend that prospective students look beyond published prices since the tuition listed may not be the actual amount they'll pay after financial aid and institutional grants. For families and prospective college-bound students, here are a few questions and answers on tuition costs.ow Much Is College Tuition

Tuition and fees vary from college to college.

In looking just at schools ranked in the National Universities category, for example, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2021-2022 school year is $43,775 at private colleges, $28,238 for out-of-state students at public schools and $11,631 for state residents at public colleges, according to data reported to U.S. News in an annual survey. When it comes to costs, the average tuition and fees to attend an in-state public National University is 73% less than the average sticker price charged at a private institution.

At public two-year institutions, tuition and fees cost $3,770 on average for in-state, in-district students in 2020-2021, according to data collected in the College Board's annual survey, Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid.

What Are the Differences Between Tuition and Fees?

The biggest chunk of college costs is usually tuition – the amount of money required for instruction. Especially at the undergraduate level, students are often required to pay fees; these costs usually need to be paid to enroll in and attend class.

"It really all should be called tuition, but some play a little shell game when they don't want to advertise tuition increases. So they increase a fee over here, and you end up with something complicated like that. Others include it all as one straight fee," says Nate Johnson, founder and principal of Postsecondary Analytics, a Florida-based higher education research firm.

Johnson says students and parents should look to college guides that standardize these amounts for apples-to-apples comparisons. For instance, U.S. News Best Colleges standardizes sticker prices, listing the combined published prices of tuition and fees for each school.

How Do I Use a Tuition Calculator?

The cost of attendance isn't always clear, since many families don't pay the sticker price once financial aid and institutional grants are factored into the bill.

"I would advise all families to fill out the net price calculator on the website for each school under consideration to have the best possible understanding of the costs involved at the various options," says Colleen Paparella Ganjian, founder of DC College Counseling.

READ: 

Net price is the amount students pay to attend an institution for an academic year after subtracting scholarships and grants. In essence, net price is the final price a family can expect to pay, and it's often lower than the published price.

The Department of Education's College Scorecard includes links to schools' net price calculators. Federal guidelines require colleges and universities to provide an online net price calculator. These calculators – intended for first-time, full-time undergraduate students – produce estimated values based on the information the student or parent provides.

Which Colleges Are the Least Expensive?

When it comes to published prices, attending a state school as an in-state student might be the least expensive option. Johnson says that's because "everyone who goes to those schools in effect is getting a scholarship – a discount in the cost of education paid by taxpayers."

He says students who choose to go out of state for college forfeit that subsidy. However, there are a few regions and states with tuition reciprocity programs. Under the New England Regional Student Program, for example, residents of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont are eligible to receive discounted tuition at out-of-state public colleges and universities within New England.

SEE: 

Prices among public schools across the country vary. State schools in Wyoming, followed by Florida, charged in-state students the least on average in 2020-2021 among four-year public colleges, according to the College Board. New Hampshire and Vermont were the states with the most expensive published tuition and fees, on average, for in-state students.

Tuition and fees at flagship universities for in-state students often cost more compared with other colleges and universities in the state. For example, the University of Virginia's in-state published price for the 2021-2022 year – $19,698 – is 68% more than the in-state sticker price at James Madison University – $11,720.

"If you're thinking about schools within the state where tuition can vary, then it's a question of whether the college that you're looking at that's more expensive can offer more value because it offers programs that make it worth paying a bit more," Johnson says.

Higher education experts say students shouldn't rule out private schools, since these institutions often offer tuition discounts that may make them competitive with state school prices.

This practice among private institutions of offering grants, scholarships and fellowships to offset the sticker price is known as tuition discounting – which began in the 1970s and became more common in the 1990s as an enrollment tool.

Private institutions discounted their freshman tuition at an estimated record high in 2020-2021 at nearly 54%, according to a report from the National Association of College and University Business Officers. As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, many colleges are offering tuition discounts and reductions and also raffling off free tuition and scholarships as an incentive for students to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

Which Colleges Are the Most Expensive?

Per U.S. News data, the colleges with the highest published prices are Columbia University in New York and Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania. These institutions charge $63,530 and $63,401 respectively, for their 2021-2022 sticker price, but many students pay less than the published amount to attend.

READ: 

"Typically, private liberal arts colleges have the highest sticker price, but that doesn't mean they won't be competitive with other universities given their large endowments – especially if you qualify for financial aid and scholarship opportunities," says Amy Goodman Miller, master college admissions counselor at IvyWise, a New York-based admissions consulting company.

Some schools with expensive published prices offer generous financial aid packages.

In fact, Yale University in Connecticut, Harvard University in Massachusetts and Stanford University in California, to name a few, meet students' full demonstrated need with no loans added to any financial aid package. While these schools charge tuition and fees ranging from $59,950 at Yale to $55,587 at Harvard for the 2021-2022 academic year, they rank highly among U.S. News' Best Value Schools. This ranking takes into account academic quality and the total net cost of attendance – including room and board, transportation, books and other expenses – for a student who received the average level of need-based financial aid.

Yale, for example, provided need-based grants to 57% of full-time undergraduates in the 2020-2021 school year. The average cost of attendance that year after receiving need-based grants was $18,826.

For that reason, experts say, students shouldn't just pay attention to sticker price, but to net price as well. While some schools may look more costly, they actually may charge less on average.

"The pricing game isn't very transparent. It's important to understand that the sticker price, which can look very high, is probably not what most students will actually pay," Johnson says.

Colleges with the highest net prices are largely art schools – Southern California Institute of Architecture and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, says Sabrina Manville, co-founder and chief operating officer of Edmit, a college financial aid advice website.

Small liberal arts colleges, she adds, also tend to cost more when it comes to average net price. Manville cites Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio and Sarah Lawrence College in New York as examples. "These are colleges that certainly offer respectable financial aid packages to many students with need but charge the average student more than they would have had to pay at comparable colleges," she says.

Which Schools Offer Free Tuition?

A handful of colleges and universities are tuition-free, but these institutions usually require work or service in exchange.

Students at the United States Naval Academy in Maryland or United States Military Academy in New York, for example, are required to serve after graduation. In return, tuition, room and board are free at these institutions. There are three other service academies with similar arrangements: the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado, the United States Coast Guard Academy in Connecticut and the United States Merchant Marine Academy in New York.

Other institutions that offer tuition-free education stipulate certain requirements, such as in-school employment. Alice Lloyd College in Kentucky and Warren Wilson College in North Carolina require full-time undergraduates to work a set number of hours at on-campus jobs.

READ: 

Are There States With Tuition-Free College Programs?

Twenty-nine states plus Washington, D.C., have at least one statewide promise program for eligible students, according to Kanter. Most of these are at the two-year institution level, but New York, for example, offers its program – the Excelsior Scholarship – at the two- and four-year levels. State-level programs typically have certain guidelines for students to qualify, including residency or household income.

Other requirements include holding a high school diploma and other guidelines, such as a minimum GPA. The Delaware Student Excellence Equals Degree Scholarship program, as an example, typically requires a 2.5 minimum cumulative high school GPA, or either a combined SAT score of 1350 or an ACT composite score of 19.

Some promise programs are open to adult learners. The KC Scholars Adult Learner Scholarship, for example, provides up to $5,000 per year for up to five years to students ages 24 and older who fall in the low- to modest-income bracket. Students must reside in one of six counties – Wyandotte and Johnson in Kansas, and Cass, Clay, Jackson and Platte in Missouri – and hold a minimum of 12 prior college credits or a previously earned associate degree to qualify.

Promise programs also exist at the city level. Kalamazoo, Michigan, was the first city to inspire the college promise movement 15 years ago. Other cities now offer promise programs for local high school graduates, including Detroit, Seattle, Boston and Baltimore.

However, tuition-free does not necessarily equate to completely free, given the full cost of attending college. Families must also pay attention to related educational costs like room and board, books, supplies and transportation, experts say.

"If a student enrolled gets a higher than expected bill, that could mean the difference between getting a degree or having to stop without a degree," says Mamie Voight, interim president at the Institute for Higher Education Policy. "Students need to be able to understand those (costs), and policymakers, in designing free college programs, need to consider those costs beyond tuition – which can so often derail a student's pursuit of a degree."

Cost is a key part of the college decision-making process but it shouldn't be the only driving factor, Voight adds. Rather, the overall return on investment should also be evaluated.

Trying to fund your education? Get tips and more in the U.S. News Paying for College center.

ASK AN ALUM: MAKING THE MOST OUT OF COLLEGE

PAYING FOR COLLEGE

SPONSORED CONTENT

The Mazda CX-50 Helps Drivers Connect With the Outdoors and the...

by Mazda