Cost of Private Colleges Falls Even As Costs Skyrocket for Public Colleges

Here’s the average sticker price and average net price for tuition and fees at public and private colleges in the U.S. over the past 15 years:

Prices do not include room and board. Numbers are adjusted for inflation in constant 2011 dollars.

The sticker price has gone way up (no surprise). But, because the value of grants and scholarships has also grown, average net price has grown much more slowly. In fact, in the past five years, average net price at private colleges has actually fallen.

Source: College Board

Credit: Lam Thuy Vo / NPR