It's one of the age-old debates of higher education — should you go to a public or private college? While there are plenty of pros and cons for each choice, perhaps the most integral factor in making the decision is simple: money.
Private universities tend to have more funding, thanks in large part to donations and higher tuition prices. The most renowned private schools typically receive the biggest financial contributions and, unfortunately for their students, have the highest tuition fees.
At StartClass, we wanted to find out which private schools make the biggest dent in students' savings accounts. Using data from the 2014-2015 school year provided by the U.S. Department of Education, we've identified the 25 most expensive private colleges in the country, based on the cost of tuition for full-time undergraduate students.
We've also included each school's Smart Rating — a comprehensive score that evaluates each college on a scale of 0-100 in order to rate the overall quality. The Smart Rating is determined based on the following factors: financial affordability, career readiness, admissions selectivity, expert opinion and academic excellence.
