It’s a given that all parents want the best for their children, and in many minds that automatically means college. However, not all parents are able to afford to send their kids to the college of their choice, now more than ever. Rising nationwide costs for a great many things have affected the tuitions of some of this nation’s most popular post-high school institutions, to the point that if you want your child to have a chance of making it into one, you’d better start saving now.
Here’s a breakdown of the top 25 most expensive colleges to send your child to, calculated by adding tuition plus room and board. Notable inclusions are Carnegie Mellon University at $50,640 annually; Vassar College at $50,875; and Johns Hopkins University at $51,190, with Sarah Lawrence College topping the list at $54,410 per year. Interestingly, Harvard placed 139th most expensive, and Yale isn’t in the top 25 either.
It might be timely here to remind you of two things. First, while some colleges may be more prestigious than others, the actual content of the education is what matters. A Bachelor’s Degree is still a Bachelor’s Degree, and can open doors, regardless of which institution issued it. Second, some of our finest thinkers, artists, and visionaries failed to either go to college or dropped out. In the end, persistence matters in the pursuit of both education and employment, college enrollment or not. Even more, being self-didactic — being able to teach oneself — is a skill that continues to benefit the learner well past school years. Don’t let not getting your child into your desired college sour you on alternative education.
