Nearly 20 million young people stepped onto a college campus as a student for the first time this year.
They’ll need more than highlighters and a class schedule to make it to another year.
Average tuition of public and private colleges and universities
1980-81
$3,101
1990-91
$6,562
2000-01
$10,820
2001-02
$11,380
2002-03
$12,014
2003-04
$12,953
2004-05
$13,793
2005-06
$14,634
2006-07
$15,483
2007-08
$16,231
2008-09
$17,092
2009-10
$17,649
2010-11
$18,497
* Figures in current dollars
Educational attainment
Doctorate degree 1.1%
Professional degree 1.4%
Master’s degree 6.7%
Bachelor’s degree 17.1%
Associate degree 8.2%
Vocational certificate 10.9%
Some college 15.6%
High school completion 25.6%
Less than high school 13.4%
Education and earnings
Professional degree
$11,900/month
Master’s degree
$6,700/month
Bachelor’s degree
$5,400/month
Associate degree
$4,200/month
No college degree
$3,600/month
High school diploma
$3,200/month
No diploma
$2,450/month
Top 10 colleges and universities by enrollment
1 University of Phoenix Online (Headquarters in Phoenix) 307,965
2 Liberty University Lynchburg, Virginia 100,000
3 Kaplan University Multiple campuses (Headquarters in Davenport, Iowa) 77,966
4 Arizona State University Phoenix metro area 70,440
5 Ashford University Multiple campuses (Headquarters in Clinton, Iowa) 63,096
6 Miami Dade College Miami, Florida 61,674
7 Houston Community College Houston 60,303
8 University of Central Florida Orlando 60,048
9 Ohio State University Columbus, Ohio 56,054
10 Lone Star college system The Woodlands, Texas 54,412
Top 10 most expensive colleges and universities
Connecticut College CT $43,990
Sarah Lawrence College NY $43,564
Columbia University NY $43,304
Vassar College NY $43,190
George Washington University DC $42,905
Trinity College CT $42,420
Bucknell University PA $42,342
St John’s College MD $42,192
St John’s College NM $42,192
Carnegie Mellon University PA $42,136
