Guide
Net price vs. sticker price at 22 top colleges
The published cost of attendance (sticker price) at selective colleges is close to or above $90,000 a year at many private colleges, but students who receive federal aid pay far less on average. This table shows both numbers for 22 well-known colleges, plus what families in three income bands paid on average. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard (opens in a new tab), release dated 2026-11-02. Cost of attendance is for 2024-25; public colleges show the in-state figure.
| College | Sticker price (2024-25) | Average net price | Income $0–30k | Income $48–75k | Income $110k+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Princeton University | $87,888 | $7,815 | Not reported | $1,346 | $38,927 |
| Rice University | $87,824 | $11,164 | $5,707 | $5,420 | $40,188 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | $26,949 | $11,305 | $2,212 | $6,761 | $24,276 |
| Yale University | $91,950 | $11,340 | $1,256 | $854 | $47,749 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | $29,041 | $12,028 | $7,687 | $10,051 | $18,187 |
| Stanford University | $92,892 | $12,307 | $1,067 | Not reported | $47,575 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | $36,613 | $14,362 | $3,155 | $5,768 | $28,625 |
| University of California-Berkeley | $47,842 | $14,538 | $5,110 | $9,606 | $37,451 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | $41,373 | $14,659 | $7,755 | $10,769 | $32,922 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | $85,960 | $14,815 | Not reported | $4,283 | $50,747 |
| Vanderbilt University | $94,142 | $15,497 | $3,637 | $5,651 | $42,583 |
| University of Chicago | $94,971 | $16,776 | $394 | $2,800 | $49,769 |
| University of Virginia-Main Campus | $41,803 | $18,056 | $9,479 | $13,391 | $33,994 |
| The University of Texas at Austin | $31,951 | $18,554 | $8,979 | $12,412 | $30,480 |
| Harvard University | $89,279 | $19,148 | $2,542 | $4,126 | $51,128 |
| Duke University | $90,696 | $23,706 | $6,652 | $4,608 | $48,954 |
| Dartmouth College | $91,312 | $26,707 | $1,399 | $1,680 | $56,894 |
| Brown University | $91,676 | $26,976 | $39 | $10,079 | $48,459 |
| University of Pennsylvania | $92,288 | $29,577 | Not reported | $12,421 | $61,455 |
| University of Southern California | $95,048 | $33,056 | $17,171 | $18,282 | $59,062 |
| Northwestern University | $94,854 | $34,420 | $1,427 | $8,811 | $56,074 |
| New York University | $86,574 | $35,737 | $16,349 | $21,188 | $68,303 |
How to read these numbers
- Net price is cost of attendance minus grants and scholarships. It does not subtract loans, which you repay. See the Scorecard glossary (opens in a new tab).
- Net price by income covers first-time, full-time students who received federal aid. "Not reported" means the Scorecard release has no figure for that band.
- Your own price depends on your family's finances. Each college's net price calculator gives a personal estimate; links are on every college page.
- International students usually are not covered by these averages. See aid for international students.