The 20 Most Expensive Colleges In America

The best educations can sometimes be the most expensive.

It's common knowledge that college costs are on the rise. But you may be surprised to know that some schools currently charge over $60,000 to educate a student for just one year.

A list released earlier this year by the Department of Education charts the highest tuition in the country. Unfortunately, the tuition numbers used in the rankings are two years old, and fail to show the contemporary college landscape.

The list also ignores the total cost of an education. Most four-year residential colleges will tack on an extra ten grand or more for room, board, and a wide range of other fees. 

An administrator at Ohio University — which was included in the list of most expensive public universities — dismissed the Department of Education's rankings, saying, "The list does not describe the entire story of the costs of a quality education at Ohio University."

New York University — our most expensive school at a whopping $61,977 per year — falls at number 61 on the Department of Education's highest tuition list.

We've compiled a list of the colleges that are charging the most for tuition, required fees, and room and board for the upcoming academic year. These numbers are solely what you would directly pay to the school, so you're still going to have to cover books, travel, and beer, as well as the more recent requirement of a health care plan.

For schools that didn't offer a flat total on their website, we added up the fees that a typical first year student would incur.

#20 Northwestern University

Total Cost: $59,389

Tuition and Fees: $45,527

Room and Board: $13,862

Department of Education Rank: 54

#19 Pitzer College

Total Cost: $59,416

Tuition and Fees: $45,018

Room and Board: $14,398

Department of Education Rank: 41

#18 Haverford College

Total Cost: $59,446

Tuition and Fees: $45,636

Room and Board: $13,810

Department of Education Rank: 48