Tuition at 16 American Schools Now Tops $100,000 for 2026-27 School Year
“We have been moving toward this six-figure price tag for a long time, and now we are here — and for a lot of people that feels significant.”
What an absolute farce. How long do they think this can go on for?
CNBC reports:
College sticker prices top $100,000 at 16 schools — but many students pay significantly less
The yearly cost of attendance at over a dozen colleges is now six figures, after factoring in tuition, fees, room and board, books, transportation and other expenses.
For the 2026-27 academic year, 16 institutions — including Duke, Georgetown, New York University and University of Chicago — have a sticker price of more than $100,000, according to data exclusively provided to CNBC from The Princeton Review’s upcoming “The Best 392 Colleges” list. Others, such as Brown University, Northwestern and Pepperdine, cost more than $99,000.
As more schools cross the $100,000 threshold, others will follow, according to Jeff Selingo, the author of “Dream School.”
“We just keep going up and it just never stops,” he said.
“We have been moving toward this six-figure price tag for a long time, and now we are here — and for a lot of people that feels significant,” Selingo said.
Some students and their families have reached their breaking point, he added, and as a result, smaller liberal arts colleges have started losing ground to larger — and less expensive — public schools. “There is a group of institutions that used to be able to command increasing their price without a problem, and now they are finding students and families pushing back,” Selingo said.
Overall, undergraduate enrollment continues to notch modest increases, according to the latest report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, a nonprofit that tracks higher education enrollment data. However, the uptick is now driven by gains at community colleges and four-year public schools.
The high cost of college has turned some students off pricey private schools as more students question the return on investment, Selingo said.
“The cost of college is sobering — no doubt about that,” said Robert Franek, editor in chief at The Princeton Review, “and with some schools’ sticker prices crossing the $100,000 mark, paying for college seems all the more daunting.”
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Comments
Ridiculous!
The juice ain’t worth the squeeze. Been that way for quite a while.
When a year at a supposed top-drawer school costs a down payment on a house, it’s time to re-examine higher education and what the expected outcomes are economically. I don’t know many majors on a baccalaureate level, save perhaps for engineering, nursing, and perhaps some other STEM/health care related fields AND after several years of experience that will command six figure salaries. The doctorally credentialed health care professions (pharmacy, physical therapy, audiology, occupational therapy, medicine, etc.) are all programs that require at least six years to complete. Those that were master’s programs were changed years ago.
A technicality, surely, but _tuition_ has not surpassed $100k; its tuition, room & board + fees.
Yes. And people need to live somewhere, eat, and transport themselves, so those costs aren’t specific to being in college.
Also, that’s just headline cost. Financial aid at many top schools (HYP, for example) brings the actual cost to just a few thousand.
“How long do they think this can go on for?”
As long as two things remain the same:
1. Government subsidies of tuition — the whole thing started to unravel when Sallie Mae was taken over directly by the Feds. When a high school senior (who’s probably never taken an econ course) and his parents (ditto) sit down with a college there are really three people at the table — the prospective student, the college, and the Feds (FAFSA). The college tells the student s/he can borrow at a ridiculous interest rate regardless of major and how long s/he plans to attend. The government nods. The kid takes out the loan, backed by the Feds (see tuition forgiveness) and slides the money over to the college. The college gets up and walks away. They have their money now and in the future. That leaves the student hanging with the loan and staring at the Feds. The college has no interest or incentive to hold down tuition. College tours now are more about activities, the climbing walls, lazy rivers, etc., than academics.
2. Level of risk. The college has no risk. Kid takes a major that’s basically un- or underemployable and the college doesn’t care, nor is there any guarantee or warranty on the degree. The college never pays for mistakes, only the student and the government. Secondly, students would be well guided if the interest rate on the loan was tied to employability and salary expectations on graduation and five and 10 year projections. Take basket weaving and gender studies, interest rate is 10%. Take a STEM degree, 5%.