15 US universities cost over 100,000 USD for new students, Harvey Mudd is at the top
Quick Look
- 15 US universities posted annual costs of over $100,000 for new students, including tuition, fees and living expenses, with Harvey Mudd leading the way at $104,512.
- Although listed costs increase 3-9% annually, financial aid averages about half the actual cost, with an average reduction of up to 57% for freshmen at private schools.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
College costs in the US have increased about 40% over the past 20 years, with annual increases remaining at 3-9%. Data from US News for 2024 was collected from 324 universities.
15 American universities announced costs of over 100,000 USD for new students, including tuition, fees, accommodation..., headed by Harvey Mudd.
Specifically, Harvey Mudd University - a school in the top 10 liberal arts university rankings (LAC) of US News, collects more than 104,500 USD (about 2.73 billion VND) from new students. Followed by Duke University with nearly 104,000 USD. The remaining schools in the group all have fees ranging from 100,000 to 103,000 USD, of which tuition usually accounts for about 70-80%.
Many other universities also charge approximately $100,000, such as Brown, Northwestern and Pepperdine.
"College costs are truly alarming," said Robert Franek, Editor-in-Chief of The Princeton Review.
This trend is expected when university tuition fees in the US maintain an increase of about 3-9% each year. Data collected by US News from 324 schools in 2024 shows that total college costs increased about 40% over the past 20 years.
No. School Annual Cost (USD) Scholarships/Grants (USD) Ranking (US News 2026) 1 Harvey Mudd College 104,512 64,941 10 (LAC) 2 Duke University 103,975 70,439 7 3 University of Chicago 103,821 78,651 6 4 University of Southern California 103,162 50,322 28 5 Barnard College 103,000 60,320 13 (LAC) 6 University of Washington 102,260 75,880 20 7 Smith College 102,226 73,031 13 8 Fordham University 102,188 41,919 97 9 Claremont McKenna College 101,990
68,936
7 (LAC) 10 Vassar College 101,051 67,214 13 (LAC) 11 Wesleyan University 101,030 72,372 13 (LAC) 12 New York University 100,998 60,191 32 13 Georgetown University 100,864 58,163 24 14 Colgate University 100,224 72,605 22 (LAC) 15 Haverford University 100,026 70,718 24 (LAC)
However, financial support helps reduce real costs significantly. The 15 schools on the list above spend an average of 42,000 to 78,650 USD in support for students each year.
Research from Sallie - an organization that provides education loans - shows that American families only pay about half of college costs with income and savings, with the rest covered through scholarships, financial aid and loans.
According to NACUBO - an organization representing administrative and financial staff at more than 1,700 universities and colleges in the US, the average reduction for first-year students at private schools amounted to 57% of costs over the past school year.
"This means that for every dollar collected, schools provide approximately 57 cents in non-refundable financial aid," the report stated.
At many universities such as Harvard, MIT, Caltech, Yale... students are exempted from tuition or provided with living expenses if their parents' income is less than 100,000-200,000 USD per year. Mr. Robert Franek commented that the higher the listed tuition fee, the more generous schools tend to be with scholarships.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The average level of financial aid will continue to increase along with the listed tuition level
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What proportion of international students are affected by this cost?
- Do schools have a plan to control future tuition increases?
- What is the effectiveness of scholarship packages in reducing educational access inequality?
