For many people, going to their in-state flagship public university is a great way to get a solid education at a reasonable price. If you’re lucky enough to live in North Carolina, you’ve got a great program at a solid price in UNC, and chances are you know it (but half of you still want to go to Duke, so it’s okay). Some states like Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee, even heavily subsidize in-state tuition for top performers.
But for every state that has a Bright Futures-esque scholarship, there are others that completely treat their in-state students like, well, out-of-state students. In fact, it can be cheaper to earn a degree at one of the most expensive programs in Europe, including living expenses and a hefty travel budget, for a price that is shockingly comparable to these in-state programs:
California
It’s probably no surprise that California makes this list. While all the UCs are great, two stick out, UCLA and UC Berkeley. Both are also expensive. The cost of attendance for UC Berkeley is $33,383, while it’s $34,000 at UCLA. Both of those figures exclude health insurance, but assume that you’ll be living in dorms and using a meal plan.
Assuming you graduate in four years, that’s $133,532 for UC Berkeley and $136,000 for UCLA to earn your degree. Finally, about 45% of UCLA students pay the full price, while around 33% of Berkeley students do.
Illinois
The Midwest isn’t immune from high costs. Depending on your program, the cost of attendance for Illinois is anywhere from $33,060 per year to $38,154. At the low end, $132,240 is just below the cost of going to LSE. At the higher end, you’re halfway to justifying the cost of Oxford or Cambridge. In any event, 51% of Illinois students get grant-based financial aid, and another 19% get advantaged loans. That means 49% are paying full price, although 19% get help on their loans.
Louisiana
That LSU-shaped lazy river didn’t come cheat. Living in a residence hall at LSU means shelling out $33,982 per year, and that’s before health insurance. It’s more if you want an apartment. A couple of years ago, the football team may have made that worthwhile, but not so much now. That means $135,928 for your degree. The good news is that most LSU students, nearly 93%, do get some financial aid, so for many future Tigers, this may not apply.
New Hampshire
While Connecticut comes close (only being more expensive if you factor in health insurance), the University of New Hampshire is $34,830 per year, or $139,320 for a four year degree. Like LSU, UNH is generous with financial aid; 90% of students receive some. You can save money by going to UNH Manchester (in the spirit of complete disclosure).
New Jersey
Personally, this was the least surprising on the list; my undergraduate university was full of kids from NJ because it was as cheap to go out of state as it was to stay closer to home. Rutgers has a total cost of attendance of $36,129, with a jump of $8,000 if you live off-campus. That means it costs $144,516 to spend four years at Rutgers without any other aid, with a lower price for the 74% or so who get some financial aid. For the 26% who don’t, Rutgers is one of the most expensive public colleges in the country.
Pennsylvania
Here’s another tricky one. Depending on the program you choose at Penn State, you could be only slightly getting ripped off, or rather substantially. This causes the cost of attendance to range from $32,608 to $35,830 per year, giving a range of $130,432 to $143,320 for a four year degree, with 73% of students getting some financial aid, and 27% getting a hefty bill.
Vermont
Budding environmentalists have to pay for the privilege at Vermont, where the estimated total cost of attendance is $35,884 per year, or $143,536 for the four years. That’s a lot of maple syrup, and 87% get some financial aid.
Virginia
Ok, this one hurts, because I think the world of these two. UVA has a total cost of attendance per year of $34,080 for Virginians. That jumps substantially if you want to study at either the School of Commerce, the School of Leadership and Public Policy, or the School of Engineering and Applied Science. At any rate, that’s still at least $136,320 for the four years, with an extra $16,000 or so added on if you’re interested in commerce or engineering.
But that’s not the most expensive school in Virginia for in-state students. Instead, that honor goes to the College of William & Mary.
I love William & Mary. Full disclosure, I went there out of state. Their cost of attendance for in-state students is $40,220 per year. According to USNWR, that’s the most expensive in-state tuition and fees in the country. That means that it’s $160,880 to get a William & Mary education. Even if you deduct $3,000 for insurance every year (which I assume is the only way they can charge those fees, though I could be wrong), it’s still the most expensive school on this list.
Both UVA and W&M have programs to help lower and middle income Virginians receive full scholarships, but this is a relatively high-income state (property taxes in Northern Virginia were no fun when I lived there). Despite that only 35% of UVA students, and 49% of William and Mary students, get financial aid. In both cases, a majority of students are paying full price.
A Few Disclaimers Before We Go On:
Obviously, these are all at full sticker price. However, I’ve included what percentage of students get some financial aid, and whatever percentage is not included in that ends up paying full price; chances are that will be some of you.
Also, you can find ways to save money while in college, but these costs of attendance are reasonable. Additionally, a number of people will graduate in three years, but at many campuses you’re more likely to end up taking a victory lap. And yes, the flagship university tends to be the most expensive public option in a given state, but it is also usually the most prestigious public school in the state.
Finally, and this deserves its own paragraph, what follows isn’t for those people who will be receiving considerable scholarships. If you can get a Berkeley or UVA education for half price, then it takes a great value and makes it an incredible bargain. However, if your family makes too much (or you live someplace like a major metro area where the FAFSA seemingly exists to mess up your life), then take a look at this.
Meanwhile…
Outside of Oxford, Cambridge, and St. Andrews (St. Andrews loves having such a good reputation in the US!), a BSc in Economics from LSE is one of the most expensive programs I could dream up. It’s not the most expensive, but it’s definitely in the 70-80th percentile. Additionally, it’s located in Central London, one of the most expensive cities in the world. And let’s face it, a BSc in Econ from LSE means that no one can ever doubt the worth of your education.
Here’s the math, and we’ll assume 1.40 USD per 1.00 GBP, which is slightly above what it was trading at this morning.
To study Economics at LSE, the overseas tuition rate is 22,430 GBP. Additionally, I recommend (and LSE confirms this) at least 1,100 GBP per month, with about 9 months being typical. Finally, two flights back to the US and a $1200 travel budget comes out to another $2,500 per year. That means that your cost of attendance for LSE (minus travel costs) is 32,330 GBP, or $45,262. Adding the travel costs makes it $47,762.
However, most UK (some foreign language and Scottish degrees are the exception) take only three years. Therefore, your total cost of degree is $143,286. If you’re looking at paying full price for Rutgers, William & Mary, UVA (for business school), Vermont, or Penn State, you might want to expand your search by a few thousands miles. If you’re at one of the other programs I mentioned above, it may still be worth considering; there is something to that whole ‘college is an experience’ mentality, and it’s not always dollars, pounds, euros, and cents.
But that’s the UK. Let’s take a look at a few other options. For each of these, assume about $1,000-$1,500 per month in living expenses and another $2,500-$3,000 for travel:
KU Leuven – $2,300 Euro per year
National University of Singapore – Tuition covered by grant, including medical students
Institut Polytechnique de Paris – $18,000 per year; three years total
Each of these is among the top 100 universities in the world, with NUS being number 11.
Some of these are better about student assistance than others. However, don’t just assume that your best bet is to resort to your local state university; while they can be a great deal, some of them are just overpriced.