College tuition may be more costly than ever this year

For students returning to college this fall, tuition prices in Connecticut have the potential to be more costly than ever.

The average annual cost of tuition at a four-year institution offering an undergraduate degree in the United States is now over $35,000,according to the Education Data Initiative. In Connecticut, 11 of the state’s 37 schools listed here (which include private, public and community college) exceed that average. Four of those schools — Connecticut College, Trinity College, Wesleyan University and Yale University — have annual tuition costs over $60,000.

Wesleyan University ranks No. 1 as the most expensive tuition in Connecticut, with an annual tuition of $63,722. Wesleyan is a private university based in Middletown and is referred to as one of the “NESCACs,” or schools in the New England Small College Athletic Conference. This conference is self-described as “a group of eleven highly selective liberal arts colleges and universities that share a similar philosophy for intercollegiate athletics.” According to the U.S. News & World Report, Wesleyan is ranked No. 17 in the U.S. for “National Liberal Arts Colleges,” tied with Smith College in Northampton, Mass.

Yale University, the Ivy League school out of New Haven, was the No. 2 most expensive school, followed by Connecticut College in New London and Trinity College in Hartford. All three are private schools and have annual tuitions of $62,250, $62,235 and $61,070 respectively. In fact, the top 12 most expensive Connecticut colleges were all private schools.

These prices only reflect a schools’ tuition, meaning additional costs like room and board as well as additional fees are not included in those price tags. According to the Education Data Initiative, the average cost of room and board could mean adding anywhere from $8,556 to $12,870 to those tuition costs.

College tuition in the United States has been increasing in the past 20 years. Finaid, a website that specializes in comprehensive student financial aid information, noted “A good rule of thumb is that tuition rates will increase at about twice the general inflation rate. On average, tuition tends to increase about 8% per year. An 8% college inflation rate means that the cost of college doubles every nine years.”

Data from U.S. News and World Report shows annual college tuition has risen across the board for both in-state and out-ofstate tuition at public universities as well as private university tuition.

In the past five years alone, private school tuition jumped over 18%, out-of-state tuition increased 13% and in-state tuition went up over 14%. Rising tuition prices have been cited as a barrier for many low socioeconomic status young adults to enter higher education. However, many of the colleges and universities listed offer comprehensive financial aid packages to encourage students of all backgrounds to apply. Wesleyan, the most expensive school in the state, has an average tuition cost of $29,000 for first-time, full-time undergraduate students receiving federal aid— over 50% less than the original cost of tuition.

As another way to combat financial barriers to education, Connecticut has introduced the PACT initiative. PACT or Pledge to Advance CT is the new funding program that is allowing those who meet certain criteria to go to Connecticut community college for free The initiative is one of the factors that push Connecticut to be the best state for community college in the United States, according to financial website Wallet-Hub.

Most of Connecticut’s colleges and universities offer some sort of financial assistance to qualifying families. However, the tuition costs listed above do not include supplementary fees for books, room and board, technology services, food and more that are extra costs. Additional fees charged by schools could affect the total amount a student pays.