247 Insights

• The average cost of college in the United States is more than $38,000.
• The most expensive college in America is an Ivy League school.

There is a debate about whether everyone who can go to college should. People can graduate with $100,000 in debt. It could take years to pay that off, and in the process, it hampers things as important as buying a home. It may be better for people to get a job in a trade like construction or banking (people only need a college degree for a few bank jobs). Some of these people can make over $125,000 a year and do not have a dollar of debt.

The Education Data Initiative claims the average cost of college in the United States is $38,370, including tuition, books, and living expenses. In state universities, it costs about $10,000 less a year.

At elite schools, like those in the Ivy League, the annual cost to be a student is much higher. Presumably, it is because people who graduate from these colleges are paid better for their careers, but that way of thinking can be risky. The most expensive college in the United States is Columbia University, an Ivy League school.

According to Self, going to Columbia for four years costs $514,442. That includes tuition and the other costs of being a college student. Tuition alone is $66,139 per academic year.

A student who graduates from Columbia could have $300,000 in student loans. That is a huge amount, even for people who get extraordinary jobs after they get a diploma.

The Priciest College in Each State

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