Prospective Ivy League students and their families are facing sticker shock as the cost of attending the elite colleges surges toward $85,000 per year.
Of the eight colleges traditionally considered part of the “Ivy League,” five have annual costs for tuition, room, board and other fees that climbed above $80,000 as of the most recent academic year — amounting to a tab of more than $320,000 for a four-year degree, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday.
The rising costs could cause even high-achieving students to think twice about whether the degree is worth it, economist Beth Akers told Bloomberg.
“At some point, that math stops working out,” said Akers, who works for the right-leaning American Enterprise Institute. “We get to a place where these degrees are just no longer worth it.”
Brown University has the steepest price tag, with an annual cost of attendance of $84,828 including room, board and other fees, according to the most recent available stats compiled by Bloomberg.
The University of Pennsylvania ranked second on Bloomberg’s list with an all-in-cost of $84,570, followed by Cornell University with a price tag of $84,568.
Dartmouth College ($84,300), Yale University ($83,880), Columbia University ($81,680), Harvard University ($76,763) and Princeton University ($76,040) came in close behind.
Tuition costs are also rising fast at other ultra-exclusive college outside the Ivy League. For example, attendance at Duke University carries an annual cost of $83,263, according to the outlet.
The California Institute of Technology, another blue-chip school, costs $82,758 per year.
Financial aid can help defray the steep costs for those students who are eligible.
Still, elite colleges remain out of reach for many households.
The real median household income was just $70,784 in 2021, according to US Census Bureau data.
College tuition costs are on the rise even as the Biden administration pursues a sweeping student loan forgiveness plan that has faced legal challenges.
The Supreme Court is mulling whether President Biden has the authority to cancel student debt by executive order.
Under Biden’s plan, the federal government would forgive up to $20,000 in student loans per borrower, depending on their eligibility.
The conservative majority Supreme Court appeared skeptical of its legality in initial hearings on the case.
One notable critic of the plan is hedge fund boss Michael Burry of “The Big Short” fame, who warned earlier this month that it could have “terrible consequences” for the country.
“Let’s not forget that the student debt problem is built on a foundation of terrible major choices,” Burry tweeted on March 1.
“Bailing generations out of those bad choices will mean more bad choices, tuition hikes, and terrible consequences for America,” Burry added.
