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- Some American universities estimate their total cost of attendance will exceed $90,000 next year.
- Tuition and fees at universities continue to climb, even when adjusted for inflation.
- The result may be a generation of students wondering if college is worth it.
The price of getting a degree has continued to climb at American universities, with the cost of some schools reaching a new threshold. It's leaving many wondering if it's a good investment.
Schools like New York University, Tufts, the University of Pennsylvania, and Yale are pegging the total cost of university attendance — which covers tuition, housing, food, supplies, books, and more — for the 2024-2025 school year at over $90,000, according to their websites.
NYU, already known for its high fees, estimates the total cost for the next school year will be $93,184, with tuition ($62,796) and food and housing ($24,652) listed as the most expensive line items. The total is up 3.3% from the $90,222 estimated for this school year.
And while that's much higher than the typical sticker price of private four-year institutions — the average was $41,540 this year, per College Board — the figures reflect both the growing costs of living in American cities and the ever-increasing costs of education.
Tuition and fees at private national universities have increased about 40% over the past 20 years, adjusted for inflation, according to U.S News & World Report. When not adjusted for inflation, that's a massive jump of about 132%. Out-of-state and in-state tuition and fees at public universities have risen about 38% and 56%, respectively, inflation-adjusted over the same period.
These soaring prices are leaving the majority of students across all racial and ethnic groups with "unmet needs" — defined as the difference between what families can afford and the cost of college — according to a 2023 Institute of Higher Education Policy analysis of Department of Education data. It's especially impacting Black and Latinx students.
Universities are quick to note that very few (and usually only the wealthiest) students actually pay the sticker price, and more top schools now guarantee they will meet the financial needs of all accepted students. To their credit, the net cost of private four-year colleges has actually fallen over the past decade, when adjusted for inflation, per College Board.
Still, for families in the lowest income bracket, the net cost of college — which takes into account grants and scholarships — amounts to 148% of their annual household income, the Institute of Higher Education Policy found.
The end result? A generation wondering if college is worth it.
In a Business Insider and YouGov survey conducted last year, 46% of Gen Z respondents said they don't think college is worth the cost. Gen X and baby boomer respondents — the parents who, in many cases, are footing the bill —were even more disparaging, with 54% and 57%, respectively, saying college wasn't worth it.
That sentiment could speed up the decadelong decline in college enrollment.
"When I'm talking to younger people of Gen Z, it seems like they're very aware" of the financial price, which "might be a little bit of a shift" from prior generations, Ana Hernández Kent, a senior researcher with the Institute for Economic Equity at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, told Business Insider last year. "Instead of just a blanket approach, and assuming that they need to go to college and that it's going to pay off, they're much more critical."