The Trump administration has pulled funding from Columbia, Harvard and other top American universities in a battle over educational philosophies. As that dispute plays out in the courts, GOBankingRates decided to take a look at how much it costs to attend America’s top universities.
These institutions are not only some of the toughest universities to get accepted into — they also cost the most money. According to new research from GOBankingRates, a four-year degree from the nation’s top 30 colleges comes with an estimated six-figure price tag.
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For this analysis, researchers at GOBankingRates examined U.S. News & World Report’s Best National University rankings to identify the top schools in America. From there, we calculated each university’s individual expenses, including tuition, housing, fees and miscellaneous/personal expenses, to find the total yearly costs to attend as a first-year student.
Key Findings
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The University of Southern California is the most expensive university. Estimated attendance for one year is nearly $100,000, while a four-year estimate is $394,900.
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The four-year estimated attendance cost at the five most expensive colleges amounts to more than $385,000. With USC at No. 1, the remaining schools include Duke University (#2), Vanderbilt University (#3), Washington University in St. Louis (#4) and Brown University (#5).
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America’s Ivy League is actually not the most expensive. Brown (#5) was the only Ivy League school to rank among the top five, followed by Cornell (#6), Dartmouth College (#8) and Yale (#10). The remaining Ivy League institutions that ranked outside the top 10 include the University of Pennsylvania (#11), Columbia (#14), Princeton (#19) and Harvard (#23).
Ranked from most to least expensive, here’s the real cost of attending the top universities in the United States.
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1. University of Southern California
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $98,725
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4-year estimate to attend: $394,900
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 27
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2. Duke University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $97,967
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4-year estimate to attend: $391,868
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
3. Vanderbilt University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $97,374
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4-year estimate to attend: $389,496
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 18
4. Washington University in St. Louis
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,984
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4-year estimate to attend: $387,936
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 21
5. Brown University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,284
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4-year estimate to attend: $385,136
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 13
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6. Cornell University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,268
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4-year estimate to attend: $385,072
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 11
7. Northwestern University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,182
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4-year estimate to attend: $384,728
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
8. Dartmouth College
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $95,490
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4-year estimate to attend: $381,960
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 15
9. New York University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $94,622
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4-year estimate to attend: $378,488
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 30
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10. Yale University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $94,425
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4-year estimate to attend: $377,700
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 5
11. University of Pennsylvania
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $94,278
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4-year estimate to attend: $377,112
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 10
12. California Institute of Technology
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,912
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4-year estimate to attend: $375,648
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
13. Stanford University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,805
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4-year estimate to attend: $375,220
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 4
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14. Columbia University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,417
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4-year estimate to attend: $373,668
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 13
15. University of Chicago
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,183
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4-year estimate to attend: $372,732
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 11
16. Emory University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $92,176
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4-year estimate to attend: $368,704
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 24
17. Rice University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $91,562
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4-year estimate to attend: $366,248
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 18
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18. Johns Hopkins University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $91,098
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4-year estimate to attend: $364,392
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
19. Princeton University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $90,718
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4-year estimate to attend: $362,872
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 1
20. Carnegie Mellon University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $89,688
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4-year estimate to attend: $358,752
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 21
21. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $89,340
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4-year estimate to attend: $357,360
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 2
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22. University of Notre Dame
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $89,002
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4-year estimate to attend: $356,008
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 18
23. Harvard University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $86,926
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4-year estimate to attend: $347,704
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 3
24. Georgetown University
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $83,673
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4-year estimate to attend: $334,692
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 24
25. University of California, Berkeley
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $81,658
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4-year estimate to attend: $326,632
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 17
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26. University of Michigan
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $79,742
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4-year estimate to attend: $318,968
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 21
27. University of Virginia
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $79,726
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4-year estimate to attend: $318,904
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 24
28. University of California, San Diego
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $78,486
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4-year estimate to attend: $313,944
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 29
29. University of California, Los Angeles
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $71,590
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4-year estimate to attend: $286,360
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 15
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30. University of North Carolina
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Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $62,788
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4-year estimate to attend: $251,152
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U.S. News & World Report ranking: 27
Methodology: For this piece GOBankingRates found the top 30 national universities from the U.S. News & World Report’s Best National University rankings. With these 30 universities isolated, GOBankingRates found the total yearly costs to attend as a first-year, out-of-state student living off campus. Tuition, housing, food, fees and miscellaneous/personal expenses were collected and totaled. All data was collected on and is up to date as of May 27, 2025.
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This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: As Harvard & Other Schools Battle Trump Administration, Here’s the Cost of America’s Top Universities
