One year later, more campuses cross the $100,000 per year boundary
Bryan Alexander 2026-08-10
Nearly a decade ago I asked the question: when will the first American college or university charge more than $100,000 per year to attend? Today I’d like to revisit that question by checking on the subsequent reality.
NB: I’ve been reflecting on my work this summer, and wondering if my output has been not futurist enough. I spend a lot of time collecting data on the present in order to build resources for forecasting, but fear I don’t get to do as much of the latter as I’d like. This blog might change a bit, moving forward.
Now, to the topic. Back in 2018 I raised the six figure published price question when the most expensive campuses charged in the $65,000 range. I noted the rapid rise in posted prices and set about estimating when the first school would crack the $100,000 barrier. Over the years I revisited the question (in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024) as the top prices kept advancing. Finally, last year two Boston institutions crossed over into six figures, research-1 Tufts University and small liberal arts college Wellesley College. (here’s my 2025 writeup)
So what’s happened since?
A few caveats and hedges before proceeding. First, it’s important to remember that these are *published* prices. Depending on the institution, some or most students and their families don’t actually pay that much, thanks to scholarships, grants, work-studies, etc. This is the famous “high price, high discount” financial model many elite institutions rely upon. Second, most American campuses don’t charge anything remotely near six figures per year, but the ones that do tend to have a lot of prominence and influence, both within the academy and in the national culture. Third, we’re talking about undergrad education, not grad school, as the latter is a different (and often more expensive) ballgame. Fourth, we’re focusing on domestic students, as campuses tend to charge more for international students. Fifth, one hundred thousand is just a number. There isn’t anything magical to it, but the flip from five to six figures has some potential symbolic resonance (yet see below).
We can start by revisiting Wellesley and Tufts to see how their prices fare. As of this writing the liberal arts college posts these charges: “Tuition $72,570, Housing $12,020, Meals $11,186, Student activity fee $360… Books $800, Personal expenses $1,250.” My math says this totals $98,186, which is a drop from last year. I wonder if the college leaders feared bad publicity and pushed for cuts.
Yet while last year the college offered an estimate for student transportation needs, up to $1250, this year they left that category open, leaving only this tag: “Varies based on distance from student’s home to Wellesley.” A travel budget of $1814 per year takes us back to $100,000. Additionally last year’s post including a charge for health insurance of $4,051. This year there’s no such figure, but instead a complex set of numbers-free options:
The state of Massachusetts requires that all college students in Massachusetts have health insurance. For students who may not have a health insurance plan that meets the state’s minimum requirements, Wellesley offers a Student Health Insurance Plan. Wellesley will bill all students the health insurance fee, which can then be waived by students who have health insurance coverage meeting the state’s standards.
Approximately 50% of Wellesley students waive the health insurance fee.
For a student enrolled in the College’s Student Health Insurance Plan, the fee is added to the student’s total cost of attendance. Health insurance grants are available for those with the highest need.
It seems plausible that either or both transportation and medical insurance could take Wellesley back over six figures. It’s interesting how they don’t share estimates this year.
How about Tufts? They’ve done something similar. Last year I figured their posted price was $100,721. This year they seem to have cut that back a bit, keeping things under six digits:
Yet that page also mentions other charges. “Out-of-Pocket Expenses (Costs Paid to Others) for All Students” includes “Books and Supplies, $1,000 [and] Personal expenses $1,846” in addition to “Transportation Varies, based on how far from Tufts a student’s home.” They add those up to $2,846, which brings the annual price to $99,998, just two dollars under the six figure turnover.
Like Wellesley, Tufts decided not to post a medical charge this time, but to offer some language under the header of “Other Expenses”:
Students who are not covered by a family member’s insurance plan will need to enroll in the university’s student health insurance plan, which incurs an additional cost. Financial aid may cover this expense for some students. However, many students can waive the university’s health insurance plan if they have other coverage options.
Last year’s posted figure was $4693. Assuming some medical inflation, those who pay it will now see their bill firmly over $100,000.
What about other campuses? How have the nation’s most expensive colleges and universities fared beyond Boston? I am grateful that others have taken up this peculiar cause and done some research. At CNBC Jessica Dickler uses Princeton Review data to identify a total of fifteen campuses which have crossed the six figure barrier this year:
1.Harvey Mudd College$104,5122.Duke University$103,9753.University of Chicago$103,8214.University of Southern California$103,1625.Barnard College$103,0006.Washington University$102,2607.Smith College$102,2268.Fordham University$102,1889.Claremont McKenna$101,99010.Vassar College$101,05111.Wesleyan University$101,03012.New York University$100,99813.Georgetown University$100,86414.Colgate University$100,22415.Haverford College$100,026We might add others based on my previous posts, depending on a couple of fees. Colorado College charges $103,306 including medical insurance, or $97,990 without. Similarly the University of Miami costs $103,355 but a mere $98,872 minus the health coverage. The University of Pennsylvania asks $99,082 plus an undetermined amount for health insurance. Cornell University posts $99,734 without transportation – which is significant, given the campus location – and also without medical fees. Stanford University is $98,320 plus something unspecified for health care. Vanderbilt states $99,620, including health insurance, but without mentioning transportation, books, or materials.
Below these are a number of campuses in the mid- and lower 90s.
So, to sum up. Two years ago American higher ed held back from this six figure number. Last year two Boston schools crossed over it. This year between 15 and 20 colleges and universities have entered the club.
What might we make of this, looking forward? I can share some thoughts based on following this question for years.
First, these high sticker prices are fodder for any politician, official, or media figure who wants to attack American higher ed. They might appear over the next three months as fall elections build up in intensity.
Second, as far as I can tell the $100,000 number hasn’t had much magic. There haven’t been cries of outrage from the public, nor much discussion inside of the academy. It is interesting to see some campuses structure their pricing pages to hold back from clearly showing six figures, but otherwise we all appear to have accepted this and moved on.
Which brings me to a third point. If Americans haven’t stormed the ivory tower to protest these high charges, then we might see more colleges and universities raises theirs as well. If we went from zero to 2 to 15-20, we might expect anywhere from 28 or more joining them in 2027-2028.
Fourth, the high tuition/high discount model is based on a society deeply stratified by economics. It lets a post-secondary institution charge top dollar to the 1% and thereabouts, then discount through the middle and lower classes. Since American society remains thus stratified and may become more so, we shouldn’t expect many changes to this campus economic model.
Fifth, I’m struck by how some of these most expensive institutions are backing away from openly declaring prices for several expense categories. Leaving transportation, medical insurance, and others undefined is an interesting move. I don’t question the accuracy, but rather am curious about the way these avoid adding clear charges. Let’s see who else does this next year.
Sixth, general inflation may boost prices still further, especially with the impacts of American federal tariffs and the Iran war. Additionally, medical costs continue to soar (cf my Health Care Nation scenario). That particular campus charge will most likely rise, adding to total cost of attendance.
That’s all for now. I’ll revisit this next year if there’s interest.