16 Colleges Now Cost More Than $100K A Year To Attend

Sixteen U.S. colleges and universities will cost more than $100,000 a year to attend during the 2026-27 academic year, according to Princeton Review Data. This data underscores growing concerns about college affordability nationwide, CNBC reports.

The annual cost of attendance — which includes tuition, fees, housing, meals, books, transportation, and other expenses — surpassed the six-figure mark at institutions including Duke University, Georgetown University, New York University, and the University of Chicago, according to findings from The Princeton Review’s upcoming “The Best 392 Colleges” guide. Brown University, Northwestern University, and Pepperdine University each reported annual costs exceeding $99,000.

Higher education analyst Jeff Selingo said the milestone reflects a long-term trend of rising college prices that is beginning to test families’ willingness to pay.

“We have been moving toward this six-figure price tag for a long time, and now we are here — and for a lot of people that feels significant,” Selingo said.

The rising costs are also influencing enrollment decisions. Data from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center show undergraduate enrollment continues to grow modestly, with gains concentrated at community colleges and four-year public universities.

“There is a group of institutions that used to be able to command increasing their price without a problem, and now they are finding students and families pushing back,” Selingo said.

Despite the headline-grabbing sticker prices, education experts note that many students pay substantially less than the advertised cost because of institutional aid.

“The cost of college is sobering — no doubt about that,” Robert Franek, editor in chief of The Princeton Review, said in a statement. “With some schools’ sticker prices crossing the $100,000 mark, paying for college seems all the more daunting.”

Several elite institutions have expanded financial aid programs in recent years. Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offer tuition-free attendance for many undergraduate students from families earning up to $200,000 annually, according to those universities.

The National Association of College and University Business Officers reported that private colleges provided an average tuition discount rate of 57% for first-time, full-time undergraduates during the 2025-26 academic year. The organization said schools awarded roughly 57 cents in grant aid for every dollar of potential undergraduate tuition revenue.

“The data tell a clear story: Don’t rule out a private college due to its sticker price, because odds are very good that you will receive a grant from that school,” NACUBO President and CEO Kara Freeman said in a statement.

A separate Sallie Mae report, “How America Pays for College,” found families typically cover only about half of college expenses through income and savings, with scholarships, grants, and student loans accounting for much of the remainder.

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