Your kid is about to graduate from high school, and you dream of sending him to a top-notch university that will hopefully prepare him well for the future. It does not matter if the school is located on the other side of the country because location and money should not be an issue when it is your child’s future at stake. Some universities will cost more than an arm and a leg, but then again, good education certainly does not come cheap.
Here is the list of the top ten most expensive universities in the United States:
1. Sarah Lawrence College – $61,236
This is a private and independent liberal arts college founded in 1926 and located in Yonkers, about 15 miles north of Manhattan in New York. The standards are so rigorous that the school maintains a low student to teacher ratio that allows a one-on-one tutorial system similar to that use in Oxford and Cambridge in Britain. The individualized course of study stresses the importance of scholarship, with the college specializing in the fields of humanities, writing and the performing arts.
2. New York University – $59,837
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in the Greenwich Village in Lower Manhattan. It has the distinction of sending out the most number of students to study in a foreign school. Established in 1831, the school boasts of 36 winners of the Nobel Prize, 16 Pulitzer Prize, and even 30 Oscar Awards winners among its faculty and former students, as well as Emmy, Grammy and Tony awardees. The university has 18 schools, colleges and institutes offering a variety of degrees.
3. Harvey Mudd College – $58,913
Established in 1955, Harvey Mudd College is part of Claremont Colleges and shares its grounds. Claremont includes seven institutions that share library, health services, security and dining hall resources, though each is managed independently. Students are given credit even for subjects taken outside their own institution. Harvey Mudd handles most of the science, math and engineering subjects, and is responsible for issuing Bachelor of Science degrees to Claremont students.
4. Columbia University – $58,742
Its complete name is the Columbia University in the City of New York, and the school has the distinction of being the oldest institution of higher learning in the state. A member of the Ivy League, the private research university was originally known as the King’s College when it was founded in 1754 by the royal charter of King George II of England. The university is responsible for administering the Pulitzer Prize. It also boasts of having the most number of Nobel Prize awardees than any other school in the world. They have already produced 29 heads of state, including three presidents of the United States.
5. Wesleyan University – $58,202
Wesleyan is known as one of the Little Ivies, along with Amherst and Williams. The Connecticut-based university was founded in 1831 under the guidance of the Methodist Episcopal Church. It has since become the second most productive liberal arts college in the country in terms of the number of undergraduates who has gone on to get a doctorate degree. Wesleyan stresses the importance of instruction in arts and science at the undergraduate level. It also provides graduate research work in different disciplines, while PhD degrees are mainly for math and science students.
6. Claremont McKenna College – $58,065
Originally established as a men’s college in 1946, Claremont Mckenna started accepting women in 1976. The private, coeducational liberal arts college is also part of the contiguous system of Claremont Colleges located 35 miles east of Los Angeles. While the emphasis of the college is on undergraduate education, they also offer a post-graduate course in finance through the Robert Day School of Economics and Finance.
7. Dartmouth College – $57,996
Founded in 1769, Dartmouth is a private research university based in Hanover in New Hampshire. It is the smallest school in the renowned Ivy League. Dartmouth offers several degrees from its liberal arts college, Geisel School of Medicine, Thayer School of Engineering and the Tuck School of Business. It also has 19 graduate programs in the fields of arts and sciences.
8. Drexel University – $57,975
Drexel is a private research university based in Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Established in 1891, the university has 70 undergraduate programs and accelerated degrees on tap for its students. Additionally, it also has more than a hundred degrees on offer for professional, master and doctoral students, a lot of which can be taken up on a part time basis. The university, however, is known for its cooperative education program. it allows students to gain actual working experience with pay for up to 18 months before they get their degree. The program has been ranked the best in the country, as it sufficiently prepares Drexel students when they leave school for the real world.
9. University of Chicago – $57,711
Founded in 1890, the University of Chicago is a private research university based in the state of Illinois. It is the home of the largest university press in the country and it has produced 87 Nobel Prize laureates. It offers various degrees from its four divisions, a school of continuing education and six professional schools. It has consistently received huge grants for scientific research that enabled the school to create the first man-made and self-sustaining nuclear reaction in the world. Its various schools have gained renown in various, disparate fields, including economics, law, literature, sociology, political science, physics, and even religion.
10. Bard College – $57,580
Established in 1860 as St. Stephen’s College, Bard is a private, liberal arts college based near Red Hook in New York. It boasts of a low student to faculty ratio of 10 is to 1, with degrees offered by its liberal arts college and music school. Bard also has eight graduate programs that offer 20 degrees. Its yearly arts festivals are acclaimed, mainly because the college hosts the CCS Hessel Museum of Contemporary Art and the Richard B. Fisher Center for the Performing Arts.