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College Fees
College Tuition–Is It Worth It?
Is the high cost of college tuition worth it? This depends on a lot of factors that families must take into consideration when choosing colleges.
December 24, 2025
Is the high cost of college tuition worth it? This depends on a lot of factors that families must take into consideration when choosing colleges.
Here’s how to identify ‘need-blind’ and ‘need-aware’ colleges when building your college list.
Much is made of the importance of “faculty-student ratios” as an indicator of the quality of undergraduate teaching, or on the importance of teaching at a university. These ratios are unhelpful as a guide to understanding the priority paid to undergraduate teaching at a university.
Some universities are willing to discount tuition rates heavily in order to attract quality students. Other universities are not. Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, is one of those that generally does not discount for much of anything. They recruit students who generally will pay the full price of tuition. Scholarships do exist, and a small percentage of students may get them for one reason or another. But the fact is that different universities have different business models. And Samford is unabashedly a school that wants students who can pay the full cost.
How much will your college degree cost? Get a look at the colleges that are graduating students with the most and the least amount of debt.
If you’re looking for a medium sized private college with small college perks, consider Ithaca in upstate New York.
If you do well in school, you will be rewarded. Seton Hall has announced deep discounts for top students. You can now attend a private university at a public school price.
Applying to an out-of-state public university can be a good admissions strategy. However, it may not be the smartest financial move.