{ "canonicalUrl": "https://nextmilerecruiting.com/cost-of-college", "alternateTextUrl": "https://nextmilerecruiting.com/cost-of-college/facts.txt", "title": "The Real Cost of College", "edition": "2025–26 Edition", "updated": "May 2026", "nextUpdate": "May 2027", "author": "Jay Johnson", "publisher": "Next Mile Recruiting", "purpose": "Crawler-friendly companion data for the interactive Cost of College article. The canonical reader experience remains https://nextmilerecruiting.com/cost-of-college.", "thesis": "Published cost of attendance is the honest starting point for recruiting decisions because it includes tuition, fees, housing, food, books, transportation, and personal expenses before aid.", "definitions": { "costOfAttendance": "Total published annual cost before aid: tuition, fees, housing, food, books, transportation, and personal expenses.", "stickerPrice": "The published cost of attendance before grants, scholarships, or family-specific aid.", "netPrice": "What a family may pay after grants and scholarships. Families should run each school's net price calculator." }, "keyTakeaways": [ "Most track and cross country athletes should not assume a full athletic scholarship.", "In-state public cost, out-of-state public cost, private sticker price, need-based aid, merit aid, and timeline all change the real recruiting decision.", "A fifth year matters because it can add another full year of cost of attendance.", "Elite academic schools can be excellent running fits, but many have high sticker prices and no athletic scholarships." ], "nationalAverages2025_26": [ { "key": "cc", "label": "Community / junior college", "sub": "2-year public, commuter budget", "perYear": 21320, "tuitionOnly": 4050, "tone": "low" }, { "key": "in", "label": "Public 4-year, in-state", "sub": "Living on campus", "perYear": 30990, "tuitionOnly": 11610, "tone": "mid" }, { "key": "out", "label": "Public 4-year, out-of-state", "sub": "The non-resident premium", "perYear": 50920, "tuitionOnly": 31540, "tone": "high" }, { "key": "priv", "label": "Private nonprofit 4-year", "sub": "Average sticker price", "perYear": 65470, "tuitionOnly": 44090, "tone": "high" } ], "graduationTiming": { "fourYear": 44, "fiveYear": 56, "sixYear": 62, "overFour": 21.5 }, "eliteTiers": [ { "name": "Ivy League", "avgYear": 95700, "note": "Several cross $100,000/yr for 2026–27", "fourYear": 382800 }, { "name": "NESCAC (the “Little Ivies”)", "avgYear": 92750, "note": "Williams, Amherst, Middlebury, Bowdoin, Tufts…", "fourYear": 371000 }, { "name": "Forbes Top 100 — private avg", "avgYear": 92000, "note": "MIT, Columbia, Princeton, Stanford…", "fourYear": 368000 } ], "powerFourConferenceAverages": [ { "name": "SEC", "inState": 30003, "outState": 52494 }, { "name": "Big Ten", "inState": 33200, "outState": 60500 }, { "name": "Big 12", "inState": 29458, "outState": 54340 }, { "name": "ACC", "inState": 32506, "outState": 67941 } ], "otherConferenceExamples": [ { "name": "UAA", "fullName": "University Athletic Association", "division": "NCAA Division III", "blurb": "Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, Emory, Chicago, WashU, NYU… elite academics, no athletic scholarships.", "private": true, "low": 88536, "high": 98500, "avg": 93803 }, { "name": "RMAC", "fullName": "Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference", "division": "NCAA Division II", "blurb": "The most competitive Division II running conference in the country — Adams State, Colorado School of Mines and Western Colorado routinely finish top-5 at nationals, and the best runners would score at the D1 level. In-state public pricing is the real story.", "private": false, "inLow": 17632, "inHigh": 36782, "inAvg": 27261, "outLow": 22552, "outHigh": 52000, "outAvg": 34518 }, { "name": "GPAC", "fullName": "Great Plains Athletic Conference", "division": "NAIA", "blurb": "A genuinely strong NAIA running conference — Dordt, Northwestern (IA) and Concordia pair a real education with competitive programs, and private Christian colleges here layer on heavy institutional aid.", "private": true, "low": 47472, "high": 55640, "avg": 51000 }, { "name": "Jayhawk / KJCCC", "fullName": "Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference", "division": "NJCAA (Junior College)", "blurb": "The two-year on-ramp. Hutchinson, Garden City, Butler and Barton run track and cross country at the NJCAA Division I level, and athletes regularly move on to D1 — even Power Four programs — after finishing an associate degree.", "private": false, "inLow": 11550, "inHigh": 20490, "inAvg": 16202, "outLow": 12360, "outHigh": 22380, "outAvg": 17301 } ], "publicFlagshipExamples": [ { "name": "University of Michigan", "short": "Michigan", "logo": "michigan", "color": "#00274c", "type": "public", "inState": 38548, "outState": 84164 }, { "name": "University of Virginia", "short": "UVA", "logo": "uva", "color": "#232d4b", "type": "public", "inState": 43118, "outState": 81591 }, { "name": "UC Berkeley", "short": "Cal Berkeley", "logo": "cal", "color": "#003262", "type": "public", "inState": 47289, "outState": 79177 }, { "name": "UT Austin", "short": "Texas", "logo": "texas", "color": "#bf5700", "type": "public", "inState": 32508, "outState": 64204 }, { "name": "UNC Chapel Hill", "short": "UNC", "logo": "unc", "color": "#4b9cd3", "type": "public", "inState": 27148, "outState": 60069 }, { "name": "University of Colorado Boulder", "short": "Colorado", "logo": "colorado", "color": "#cfb87c", "type": "public", "inState": 35456, "outState": 66500 }, { "name": "UCLA", "short": "UCLA", "logo": "ucla", "color": "#2774ae", "type": "public", "inState": 42922, "outState": 78371 } ], "forbesTop100": { "totalRanked": 100, "publicsCount": 21, "privatesCount": 79, "publicInState": 33984, "publicOutState": 62809, "privateAvg": 92000, "oosPremium": 28825, "examples": [ { "name": "MIT", "rank": 1, "logo": "mit", "inState": 89340, "outState": 89340, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Columbia", "rank": 2, "logo": "columbia", "inState": 95946, "outState": 95946, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Princeton", "rank": 3, "logo": "princeton", "inState": 90730, "outState": 90730, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Stanford", "rank": 4, "logo": "stanford", "inState": 96513, "outState": 96513, "type": "private" }, { "name": "UC Berkeley", "rank": 5, "logo": "cal", "inState": 47289, "outState": 79177, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Harvard", "rank": 6, "logo": "harvard", "inState": 86926, "outState": 86926, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Williams", "rank": 7, "logo": "williams", "inState": 90750, "outState": 90750, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Johns Hopkins", "rank": 8, "logo": "jhu", "inState": 92000, "outState": 92000, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Yale", "rank": 9, "logo": "yale", "inState": 93972, "outState": 93972, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Penn", "rank": 10, "logo": "penn", "inState": 95612, "outState": 95612, "type": "private" } ] }, "costInflation": { "recentAnnual": 3.6, "longRun": 6 }, "schoolCostLookup": [ { "state": "Alabama", "code": "AL", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Alabama", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 35392, "outState": 60400, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Auburn University", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 35298, "outState": 56706, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Arizona", "code": "AZ", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Arizona", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 35389, "outState": 62858, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Arizona State University", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 34175, "outState": 55091, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Arkansas", "code": "AR", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Arkansas", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 33988, "outState": 56256, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "California", "code": "CA", "schools": [ { "name": "UCLA", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 34667, "outState": 63669, "type": "public" }, { "name": "USC", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 99139, "outState": 99139, "type": "private" }, { "name": "University of California, Berkeley", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 47289, "outState": 79177, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Stanford University", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 92892, "outState": 92892, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Colorado", "code": "CO", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Colorado Boulder", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 35456, "outState": 66500, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Florida", "code": "FL", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Florida", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 24180, "outState": 48700, "type": "public" }, { "name": "UCF (University of Central Florida)", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 25796, "outState": 42324, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Florida State University", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 26261, "outState": 41427, "type": "public" }, { "name": "University of Miami", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 97774, "outState": 97774, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Georgia", "code": "GA", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Georgia", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 29513, "outState": 49935, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Georgia Institute of Technology", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 30154, "outState": 53638, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Illinois", "code": "IL", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 36930, "outState": 57622, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Northwestern University", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 96236, "outState": 96236, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Indiana", "code": "IN", "schools": [ { "name": "Indiana University Bloomington", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 30922, "outState": 61073, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Purdue University", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 23382, "outState": 42184, "type": "public" }, { "name": "University of Notre Dame", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 89243, "outState": 89243, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Iowa", "code": "IA", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Iowa", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 29219, "outState": 51307, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Iowa State University", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 24204, "outState": 41390, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Kansas", "code": "KS", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Kansas", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 27132, "outState": 44844, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Kansas State University", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 30552, "outState": 48246, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Kentucky", "code": "KY", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Kentucky", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 35098, "outState": 55292, "type": "public" }, { "name": "University of Louisville", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 33706, "outState": 50052, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Louisiana", "code": "LA", "schools": [ { "name": "LSU", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 39446, "outState": 56122, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Maryland", "code": "MD", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Maryland College Park", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 32408, "outState": 62374, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Massachusetts", "code": "MA", "schools": [ { "name": "Boston College", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 91792, "outState": 91792, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Michigan", "code": "MI", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Michigan", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 38548, "outState": 84164, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Michigan State University", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 30500, "outState": 57000, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Minnesota", "code": "MN", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Minnesota Twin Cities", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 29500, "outState": 50500, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Mississippi", "code": "MS", "schools": [ { "name": "Mississippi State University", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 26295, "outState": 45286, "type": "public" }, { "name": "University of Mississippi (Ole Miss)", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 30272, "outState": 49100, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Missouri", "code": "MO", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Missouri", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 32272, "outState": 52480, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Nebraska", "code": "NE", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Nebraska Lincoln", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 28874, "outState": 48944, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "New Jersey", "code": "NJ", "schools": [ { "name": "Rutgers University New Brunswick", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 40260, "outState": 61635, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "New York", "code": "NY", "schools": [ { "name": "Syracuse University", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 84408, "outState": 84408, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "North Carolina", "code": "NC", "schools": [ { "name": "Duke University", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 92042, "outState": 92042, "type": "private" }, { "name": "North Carolina State University", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 27481, "outState": 53004, "type": "public" }, { "name": "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 27148, "outState": 60069, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Wake Forest University", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 94600, "outState": 94600, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Ohio", "code": "OH", "schools": [ { "name": "Ohio State University", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 34010, "outState": 64858, "type": "public" }, { "name": "University of Cincinnati", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 37254, "outState": 52588, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Oklahoma", "code": "OK", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Oklahoma", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 29737, "outState": 49853, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Oklahoma State University", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 32820, "outState": 48340, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Oregon", "code": "OR", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Oregon", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 40236, "outState": 71256, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Pennsylvania", "code": "PA", "schools": [ { "name": "Penn State University", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 39892, "outState": 59846, "type": "public" }, { "name": "University of Pittsburgh", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 27240, "outState": 41430, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "South Carolina", "code": "SC", "schools": [ { "name": "University of South Carolina", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 40584, "outState": 66394, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Clemson University", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 37130, "outState": 63654, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Tennessee", "code": "TN", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Tennessee Knoxville", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 35064, "outState": 54508, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Vanderbilt University", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 94274, "outState": 94274, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Texas", "code": "TX", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Texas at Austin", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 32508, "outState": 64204, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Texas A&M University", "conf": "SEC", "inState": 33876, "outState": 60846, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Baylor University", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 74269, "outState": 74269, "type": "private" }, { "name": "University of Houston", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 20951, "outState": 33781, "type": "public" }, { "name": "TCU", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 82310, "outState": 82310, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Texas Tech University", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 28525, "outState": 41124, "type": "public" }, { "name": "SMU (Southern Methodist University)", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 92766, "outState": 92766, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "Utah", "code": "UT", "schools": [ { "name": "BYU", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 21940, "outState": 21940, "type": "private" }, { "name": "University of Utah", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 40846, "outState": 62590, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Virginia", "code": "VA", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Virginia", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 43118, "outState": 81591, "type": "public" }, { "name": "Virginia Tech", "conf": "ACC", "inState": 33624, "outState": 63624, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Washington", "code": "WA", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Washington", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 36746, "outState": 67800, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "West Virginia", "code": "WV", "schools": [ { "name": "West Virginia University", "conf": "Big 12", "inState": 27644, "outState": 45356, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "Wisconsin", "code": "WI", "schools": [ { "name": "University of Wisconsin Madison", "conf": "Big Ten", "inState": 30005, "outState": 60505, "type": "public" } ] }, { "state": "— Ivy League —", "code": "IVY", "schools": [ { "name": "Harvard University", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 86926, "outState": 86926, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Yale University", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 90550, "outState": 90550, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Princeton University", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 91000, "outState": 91000, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Columbia University", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 95946, "outState": 95946, "type": "private" }, { "name": "University of Pennsylvania", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 95612, "outState": 95612, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Brown University", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 97284, "outState": 97284, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Dartmouth College", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 95490, "outState": 95490, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Cornell University", "conf": "Ivy League", "inState": 99734, "outState": 99734, "type": "private" } ] }, { "state": "— NESCAC (Little Ivies) —", "code": "NESCAC", "schools": [ { "name": "Amherst College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 93090, "outState": 93090, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Bates College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 92530, "outState": 92530, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Bowdoin College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 95000, "outState": 95000, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Colby College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 94000, "outState": 94000, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Connecticut College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 91660, "outState": 91660, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Hamilton College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 91150, "outState": 91150, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Middlebury College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 90756, "outState": 90756, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Trinity College (CT)", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 95394, "outState": 95394, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Tufts University", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 97152, "outState": 97152, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Wesleyan University", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 93114, "outState": 93114, "type": "private" }, { "name": "Williams College", "conf": "NESCAC", "inState": 90750, "outState": 90750, "type": "private" } ] } ], "sources": [ { "name": "College Board — Trends in College Pricing 2025-26", "url": "https://research.collegeboard.org/trends/college-pricing/highlights" }, { "name": "NCES — Undergraduate graduation rates", "url": "https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=40" }, { "name": "UCLA HERI — Completing College research brief", "url": "https://heri.ucla.edu/DARCU/CCResearchBrief.pdf" }, { "name": "Forbes 2025-26 America's Top Colleges", "url": "https://poetsandquants.com/2025/08/28/ranking-the-forbes-2025-2026-top-colleges-in-america/3/" }, { "name": "Ivy Coach — Ivy League tuition & costs", "url": "https://www.ivycoach.com/the-ivy-coach-blog/other-tidbits/ivy-league-tuition-costs/" }, { "name": "Road2College — NESCAC / Little Ivies", "url": "https://www.road2college.com/nescac_schools_vs_little_ivies/" }, { "name": "Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Plains_Athletic_Conference" }, { "name": "Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocky_Mountain_Athletic_Conference" }, { "name": "Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kansas_Jayhawk_Community_College_Conference" }, { "name": "University Athletic Association (UAA)", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_Athletic_Association" }, { "name": "UAA member 2025-26 cost of attendance — official pages (e.g. Johns Hopkins)", "url": "https://apply.jhu.edu/tuition-aid/estimate-your-college-costs/" }, { "name": "UAA member 2025-26 cost of attendance — official pages (e.g. University of Chicago)", "url": "https://csl.uchicago.edu/college-historical-cost-of-attendance/" }, { "name": "Forbes / Commonfund HEPI — higher-ed inflation", "url": "https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaeltnietzel/2025/12/15/higher-education-inflation-rate-hit-36-for-fiscal-year-2025/" } ] }