The most expensive colleges in 2026 are again setting records for the price of tuition. The sticker price of some of these colleges is extreme, with every single school on the list exceeding $72,000 per year in tuition alone.

College is one of the few good and services where you know that people are paying $0 to attend, and you know that people are paying full price - and most people are paying somewhere in between.

Even though the colleges in the list below have a high sticker price, that doesn't mean you personally will pay that price if you decide to apply and attend.

What are the most expensive colleges to attend? Check out our list of 30 expensive universities below based on their tuition and fees for the 2026-2027 school year.

Most Expensive Colleges List

Here is the list of the top 30 most expensive colleges and universities in the United States based on their published tuition for a single year:

It's easy to notice that all of these colleges and universities are charging students over $72,000 per year to attend. Compared to 2025, we saw prices at these schools rise 4.5% on average. We also saw some big shifts in the list, with Colgate taking the top spot as the most expensive college tuition in America for 2026.

That equates to over $300,000 for an undergraduate degree, assuming that the student is paying full price. These numbers don't include room, board, and other expenses like textbooks. Given the current value of a bachelor's degree is roughly $40,000 to $80,000 depending on major, that's problematic.

Our study only focuses on tuition price because that's the simplest to compare "apples to apples". Other costs, like room and board, are variable since students could live at home. That's why you may see some schools' total "cost of attendance" being higher - but that includes more than tuition (and may not be accurate anyway).

All-in-all, students attending these schools and paying full price could see a total cost of attendance in excess of $100,000 per year. And remember, the price will usually rise each year as well.

Here's a more detailed look at each school.

1. Colgate University

Tuition Cost: $76,828

Colgate University is a private liberal arts college located in New York. It was founded in 1819, and is consistently ranked as one of the most selective colleges in the United States. The college offers 56 undergraduate majors.

There are currently about 3,200 undergraduate students enrolled.

Colgate saw its tuition rise by roughly 4.95% last year.

2. Williams College

Tuition Cost: $76,300

Williams College is a private liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1793, and is consistently ranked as the top liberal arts college in the United States by U.S. News & World Report. The college offers 37 undergraduate majors across 27 academic departments.

There are currently about 2,100 undergraduate students enrolled. Williams saw its tuition rise by roughly 4.3% last year.

3. Vassar College

Tuition Cost: $76,140

Vassar is an independent liberal arts college located in New York that was founded in 1861. It started as a women's college, but it opened its doors to men in 1969.

Vassar College is a relatively small school, with just 2,500 students spread across 51 different majors.

Vassar saw its tuition rise by roughly 2.5% last year.

4. Wesleyan University

Tuition Cost: $75,916

Wesleyan is a private liberal arts college located in Connecticut. It was founded in 1831 as a men's college, but by 1970 it was co-educational. Undergraduate students have the option of 45 different major concentrations.

Wesleyan University has roughly 2,800 undergraduate students.

Wesleyan saw its tuition rise by roughly 4.8% last year.

5. Colby College

Tuition Cost: $75,790

Colby College is a private liberal arts college located in Maine that was founded in 1813. Despite its price tag, the college has just a 6% admission rate, highlighting its generous financial aid packages and waiving other common admissions practices.

There are currently about 2,000 students enrolled in 54 fields of study.

Colby saw its tuition rise by roughly 5% last year.

6. Colorado College

Tuition Cost: $75,702

Colorado College is a private liberal arts college that was founded in 1874. Despite its price tag, it's considered a highly selective college, with just about 11% of applicants admitted. The college has roughly 80 majors and minors, with economics being of the largest enrollment.

The college has about 2,000 undergraduate students.

Colorado College saw its tuition rise by roughly 4% last year.

7. University of Southern California

Tuition Cost: $75,384

The University of Southern California, or USC, is well known both for its academic programs and for its football team, which dominates the fields each year. Go to this school if you're interested in film and photography, as USC's programs for both are well-ranked and regarded as the best in their respective industries.They also have one of the largest sports programs of schools on this list.

Their current undergraduate enrollment is roughly 20,700 students, making them one of the largest colleges on this list.

USC saw its tuition rise by roughly 2.9% last year.

8. Amherst College

Tuition Cost: $75,330

Amherst College was founded in 1821, and is exclusively an undergraduate liberal arts college. This highly selective college has 42 majors in an open curriculum - where students can essentially design their own interdisciplinary major.

There are currently about 1,900 students enrolled.

Amherst saw its tuition rise by roughly 7% last year.

9. Claremont McKenna College

Tuition Cost: $75,300

Claremont McKenna College is a political science and business management college first and foremost, though it also has a very strong liberal arts department. Therefore, this could be a great university to attend if you are interested in any of these areas. In addition, Claremont McKenna College has 11 distinct research centers, so it’s ideal if a future of professional research sounds right for you.

Claremont McKenna saw its tuition rise by almost 5% last year.

10. Hamilton College

Tuition Cost: $75,210

Hamilton College is a private liberal arts college located in Clinton, New York. It was founded in 1793 and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. The college offers 44 undergraduate majors across more than 50 areas of study.

There are currently about 2,000 undergraduate students enrolled.

Hamilton College saw its tuition rise by almost 4.5% last year.

11. Carleton College

Tuition Cost: $75,186

Carleton College is a private liberal arts college located in Minnesota. It was founded in 1866 and has 33 different major programs, as well as a program that allows students to design their own major.

The college has 2,100 undergraduate students.

Carleton saw its tuition rise by roughly 4.6% last year.

12. Boston College

Tuition Cost: $75,070

Boston College was founded in 1863 in Boston, MA. Today, it has an undergraduate, graduate, and professional school centered around its liberal arts programs. Boston College is one of the larger schools on this list, with an enrollment of 15,000 students across 50 fields of student. They also have one of the larger sports program compared to other schools on this list.

Boston College saw its tuition rise by roughly 4% last year.

13. Haverford College

Tuition Cost: $74,930

Haverford College was founded in 1833 in Haverford, PA. This liberal arts college focuses on an education based on discussion and debate of ideas. With just 1,400 students, this small liberal arts school still has over 50 majors to choose from.

Haverford saw its tuition rise by roughly 6.4% last year.

14. Franklin & Marshall College

Tuition Cost: $74,770

Franklin & Marshall College is an undergraduate liberal arts college that touts itself as one of the oldest colleges in the United States. Franklin College was founded in 1787 with a financial gift from Benjamin Franklin. In 1853 it merged with Marshall College to become the organization it is today.

The college is fairly small, having a student body of just 2,400 students, but it does offer 60 fields of study.

Franklin & Marshall saw its tuition rise by roughly 3% last year.

15. Brown University

Tuition Cost: $74,568

Brown University is a private Ivy League University that located in Rhode Island. It's one of the oldest colleges in the United States, founded in 1764. The college is known for having some of the oldest math and engineering programs in the country.

This school has roughly 7,000 undergraduate students, enrolled across 80 different programs.

Brown saw its tuition rise by almost 4% last year.

Related: Outsized Impact Of Ivy Plus Colleges

16. Georgetown University

Tuition Cost: $74,520

Georgetown University is a private Jesuit research university located in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1789 by Bishop John Carroll and is the oldest Catholic and Jesuit university in the United States. Georgetown offers undergraduate degree programs across 48 disciplines.

There are currently about 7,800 undergraduate students enrolled.

Georgetown saw its tuition rise by roughly 4.75% last year.

17. Macalester College

Tuition Cost: $74,394

Macalester College is a private liberal arts college located in Minnesota. This college only serves undergraduates, and currently has roughly 2,100 students. The college offers 39 majors, as well as a program that allows students to design their own major and navigate their own fields of study.

Macalester saw its tuition rise by roughly 4% last year.

18. Pepperdine

Tuition Cost: $74,370

Pepperdine is a private university that started in Southern California, but now has several locations worldwide. The undergraduate program offers 46 majors and 47 minors.

This college currently has about 3,600 undergraduate students and 6,300 graduate students.

Pepperdine saw its tuition rise by roughly 5% last year.

19. Reed College

Tuition Cost: $73,960

Reed College is a Portland, OR liberal arts college that was founded in 1908 (surprisingly making that one of the newer colleges on this list). Reed has roughly 40 bachelor of arts programs, and has a student population of 1,400. They promise small class sizes and a low teacher to student ratio.

Reed College saw its tuition rise by roughly 6.6% last year.

20. Cornell University

Tuition Cost: $73,946

Cornell is a private Ivy-League university based in Ithaca, New York that was founded in 1865. The school is organized into seven undergraduate colleges and seven graduate colleges. The programs are highly selective, with an undergraduate admissions rate of roughly 7%.

The university has roughly 16,000 undergraduate students and 10,000 graduate students.

Cornell saw its tuition rise by roughly 3.7% last year.

21. Duke University

Tuition Cost: $73,946

Duke University is a private university located in North Carolina that was founded in 1838. Known for a fantastic sports program and basketball team, the school also excels in academics.

There are currently about 6,600 undergraduate students, but notably over 9,000 graduate students.

Duke saw its tuition rise by roughly 5.4% last year.

22. Davidson College

Tuition Cost: $73,090

Davidson College is a private liberal arts college located in Davidson, North Carolina. It was founded in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. The college offers 37 undergraduate majors.

There are currently about 1,900 undergraduate students enrolled.

Davidson saw its tuition rise by roughly 6.8% last year.

23. Sarah Lawrence College

Tuition Cost: $73,088

Sarah Lawrence College was founded in 1926 and is one of the top liberal arts colleges available today. It’s particularly well known and respected for its inclusion of women in academia - female college attendees will find a very supportive culture here that they can use for support. There are 12 programs offered in total, but students can also design custom courses based on their unique liberal arts career goals.

Sarah Lawrence saw its tuition rise by roughly 3% last year.

24. Boston University

Tuition Cost: $73,024

Boston University was founded in 1838 in Boston, MA. Don't confuse Boston University with Boston College - though both are on this list. Boston University is the second-largest college on this list, boasting 17,500 undergraduate students and another 17,000 graduate students.

BU saw its tuition rise by roughly 4.5% last year.

25. Middlebury College

Tuition Cost: $72,924

Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Vermont. It was founded in 1800, and currently offers 45 majors. The college has an interesting calendar of two four-course semesters in the autumn and spring plus what is known as a "Winter Term" session in January. The Winter Term allows students to pursue independent research or complete an internship.

There are roughly 2,700 undergraduate students.

Middlebury saw its tuition rise by roughly 4.5% last year.

26. Kenyon College

Tuition Cost: $72,880

Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college located in Ohio. It's one of the oldest colleges in Ohio, founded in 1824. This school is consistently ranked on lists like US News Best Liberal Arts Colleges.

The college only has about 1,885 undergraduate students, but still boasts roughly 50 majors.

Kenyon saw its tuition rise by roughly 0.95% last year.

27. Swarthmore College

Tuition Cost: $72,722

Swarthmore College is a private liberal arts college located in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1864 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and is consistently ranked among the top liberal arts colleges in the United States. The college offers 40 majors.

There are currently about 1,600 undergraduate students enrolled.

Swarthmore saw its tuition rise by 5.75% last year.

28. Wellesley College

Tuition Cost: $72,570

Wellesley College is a well-known liberal arts school in Massachusetts, and it's particularly well-regarded as a women's school. Consider attending here if you're a woman and want a female-oriented education that will help you secure competitive professional spots in the future.

Wellesley saw its tuition rise by roughly 4% last year.

29. Yale

Tuition Cost: $72,500

Yale is a private Ivy League college that was founded in 1701, making it the third-oldest college in the United States. The university is organized into 14 colleges. Yale is notable for the number of Nobel Laureate graduates as well as other famous alumni.

The college has roughly 6,500 undergraduate and 5,300 graduate students.

Yale saw its tuition rise by roughly 3.7% last year.

30. George Washington University

Tuition Cost: $72,000

George Washington University is a private, federally-charted, university located in Washington, D.C. It was originally founded in 1821 as Columbian College, was was renamed to its current form in 1904. The college boasts 71 degree programs, and currently has over 11,000 undergraduate students.

GWU saw its tuition rise by roughly 3% last year.

Remember: You Don't Have To Pay The Sticker Price

While the sticker price of these colleges can be scary - the top 30 most expensive colleges all have prices over $72,000 per year for just tuition - it's important to remember that you don't have to pay full price.

In fact, only 38% of undergraduate students pay full price according to research by Mark Kantrowitz. And with that in mind, you also know there are a number of students paying $0 due to scholarships, grants, and other financial aid.

So even though the list price may be $72,000, most students will be paying less than that amount every year.

Related: How To Pay For College

Tuition Free College

On the flip side of this equation, there are quite a few tuition-free colleges available to students. Tuition-free doesn't mean they are "free" overall - you may still have to pay for housing, books, and more, but they would be substantially cheaper than the options on this list.

Furthermore, there are options like community college or 2-year college, which is free in over half of the United States. This type of school could allow you to take undergraduate general education classes, and then transfer to another school to complete your 4-year degree.

How To Lower The Cost You Pay For College

Even if you want to attend one of these extremely expensive colleges, there may be ways to lower the price you pay through financial aid incentives.

Most of these college advertise generous financial aid packages. Financial aid may come in the form of scholarships (both need-based and merit-based), grants, work study, fellowships, and student loans.

To start, you need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and potentially the CSS Profile, depending on whether your college requires it (and many expensive private schools do).

Once you fill out these forms, your college's financial aid office will make a decision regarding potential aid. When you receive an admissions decision, you'll also receive a financial aid award notification that will tell you how much financial aid you will receive if you accept their offer.

Depending on various circumstances, you could potentially appeal your financial aid award and ask for more assistance if you need it.

The bottom line is that you may be able to lower the cost you pay for college out of pocket.

Final Thoughts

College is expensive. And these schools are unusually expensive. The average tuition at a private college is $41,450, and all of these colleges are advertising tuition in excess of $72,000 per year.

However, just because a college or university is expensive doesn't mean that you personally will pay that price. With all of the various financial aid options available, you could see a significantly reduced out-of-pocket price. Just check out our list of least expensive colleges for inspiration.

So don't let the advertised tuition cost scare you away from applying. If one of these expensive colleges is your dream school, you should apply. Just make sure that you also fill out the FAFSA and see if you can get a generous financial aid package as well.

Because while these schools may be prestigious, it's important to make sure that college is worth it and you get a positive ROI on your education.

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Methodology

This list is based on the listed tuition price of each college based on the 2026-2027 academic year.

We manually checked the posted prices at all of the college above, along with any press released from the school about future prices, as some may not have updated their financial aid websites yet.

Some colleges may not have published their 2026-27 tuition as of publication.