5Cs Ranked as Most Expensive Schools

By Abhi Nemani | October 19, 2009 at 5:04 pm | News | 10 comments | |

Think college is expensive? According to a Campus Grotto’s national survey, it is — especially in Claremont. (Surprising, we know.)

In terms of total cost — tuition plus room and board — all Claremont Colleges fall into their 2009-2010 ranking of the “Top 100 Highest Cost” colleges with Harvey Mudd (#9, $51,037), Claremont McKenna (#13, $50,800), and Scripps (#24, $50,336) coming in the top 25. With costs under $50K, Pomona (#60, $49,361) and Pitzer (#93, $47,278) fared better. Campus Grotto notes that overall tuition at private college increased 4.3 percent across the board, the smallest rise in 37 years. CMC nonetheless inched up two spots on the list from #15 last year, with only a 4.2 percent increase ( + $2,045). It is important to note, however, that these rankings reflect sticker price costs only and do not take into account additional student fees or financial aids. The top 25 and some explanation of their methodology is available below.

Highest Total Cost 2009-2010

College	Total Cost
1. Sarah Lawrence College	$54,410
2. New York University	$51,991
3. The George Washington University	$51,730
4. Bates College	$51,300
5. Skidmore College	$51,196
6. Johns Hopkins University	$51,190
7. Georgetown University	$51,122
8. Connecticut College	$51,115
9. Harvey Mudd College	$51,037
10. Vassar College	$50,875
11. Wesleyan University	$50,862
12. Dickinson College	$50,860
13. Claremont McKenna College	$50,800
14. Colgate University	$50,660
15. Carnegie Mellon University	$50,640
16. Haverford College	$50,625
17. Bowdoin College	$50,485
18. Middlebury College	$50,400
19. Mount Holyoke College	$50,390
20. Bard College	$50,380
21. Boston College	$50,370
22. Franklin & Marshall College	$50,360
23. Bard College at Simon’s Rock	$50,340
24. Scripps College	$50,336
25. Babson College	$50,324

Notes:
Total cost is taken by adding tuition + room and board. We do not include fees when figuring the total cost. This is because many fees can be optional and can vary per student. A Student Health Insurance Fee, for example, is obviously not going to be required for a student already on their parents’ insurance plan. Some colleges also charge fees to certain majors. Including fees in the ‘Total Cost’ would have led to too many ‘What Ifs’.

These numbers were taken directly from the college’s website in October of 2009. In the case that the University does not provide an estimated cost of room and board (because some dorms on campus are priced differently), we took the price of a dorm a typical freshman would find themselves in.

Some colleges like Bates College, Colby College, Middlebury College, and Union College have a comprehensive fee (tuition + room/board). Their tuition numbers were taken by taking their total comprehensive fee and subtracting by the amount of rebate the college gives to students who choose to live off campus.