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
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.
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).
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
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $98,725
4-year estimate to attend: $394,900
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 27
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2. Duke University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $97,967
4-year estimate to attend: $391,868
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
3. Vanderbilt University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $97,374
4-year estimate to attend: $389,496
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 18
4. Washington University in St. Louis
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,984
4-year estimate to attend: $387,936
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 21
5. Brown University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,284
4-year estimate to attend: $385,136
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 13
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6. Cornell University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,268
4-year estimate to attend: $385,072
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 11
7. Northwestern University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $96,182
4-year estimate to attend: $384,728
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
8. Dartmouth College
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $95,490
4-year estimate to attend: $381,960
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 15
9. New York University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $94,622
4-year estimate to attend: $378,488
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 30
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10. Yale University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $94,425
4-year estimate to attend: $377,700
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 5
11. University of Pennsylvania
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $94,278
4-year estimate to attend: $377,112
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 10
12. California Institute of Technology
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,912
4-year estimate to attend: $375,648
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
13. Stanford University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,805
4-year estimate to attend: $375,220
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 4
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14. Columbia University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,417
4-year estimate to attend: $373,668
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 13
15. University of Chicago
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $93,183
4-year estimate to attend: $372,732
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 11
16. Emory University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $92,176
4-year estimate to attend: $368,704
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 24
17. Rice University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $91,562
4-year estimate to attend: $366,248
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 18
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18. Johns Hopkins University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $91,098
4-year estimate to attend: $364,392
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 6
19. Princeton University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $90,718
4-year estimate to attend: $362,872
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 1
20. Carnegie Mellon University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $89,688
4-year estimate to attend: $358,752
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 21
21. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $89,340
4-year estimate to attend: $357,360
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 2
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22. University of Notre Dame
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $89,002
4-year estimate to attend: $356,008
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 18
23. Harvard University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $86,926
4-year estimate to attend: $347,704
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 3
24. Georgetown University
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $83,673
4-year estimate to attend: $334,692
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 24
25. University of California, Berkeley
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $81,658
4-year estimate to attend: $326,632
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 17
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26. University of Michigan
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $79,742
4-year estimate to attend: $318,968
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 21
27. University of Virginia
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $79,726
4-year estimate to attend: $318,904
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 24
28. University of California, San Diego
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $78,486
4-year estimate to attend: $313,944
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 29
29. University of California, Los Angeles
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $71,590
4-year estimate to attend: $286,360
U.S. News & World Report ranking: 15
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30. University of North Carolina
Yearly estimate of total cost to attend: $62,788
4-year estimate to attend: $251,152
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
