10 Most, Least Pricey Private Colleges and Universities

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Sticker price isn't the only cost figure to consider when researching colleges and universities. But the price tags at the top 10 costliest and least expensive private universities are just too eye-catching to overlook.

The 10 priciest private universities charged $49,243 for tuition and fees on average in the 2014-2015 school year. That's nearly $18,000 more than the average private school price tag, according to data reported to U.S. News by 728 ranked private schools.

The 10 least expensive institutions, mostly liberal arts and regional colleges, charged $8,363 on average in tuition and fees in 2014-2015, according to U.S. News data.

[See photos of the top 20 Liberal Arts Colleges.]

Columbia University, which is tied with two other schools at No. 4 among National Universities, topped the list of expensive schools, charging $51,008 in tuition and fees. Runner-up Sarah Lawrence College, tied at 59 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, charged $50,780. And third-place Vassar College, tied at No. 11 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, charged $49,570.

Kentucky's Berea College, tied with three other schools at No. 69 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, topped the list of least expensive schools. Berea charged just $870 in tuition and fees for the 2014-2015 school year because of its unusual take on tuition. All students receive full four-year tuition scholarships, although they may be responsible for some or all of their fees, room and board.

Runner-up Brigham Young University--Provo, tied with five other schools at 62 among National Universities, charged $5,000 in tuition and fees. LeMoyne-Owen College, a school in the bottom quarter of the Regional Colleges (South) category, charged $5,450.

[Explore the Best Value Schools rankings lists.]

The 10 most and least expensive private institutions tended to stick to regional lines, with the majority of the costliest schools landing along the East Coast, and the bulk of the least expensive institutions in the South.

Just Ohio's Oberlin College, ranked No. 23 among National Liberal Arts Colleges, and California's Harvey Mudd College, No. 15 in a tie with three other liberal arts schools, fell outside the East Coast. Only Utah's Brigham Young University bucked the trend for least expensive colleges by being located outside the South.

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Pricier schools typically ranked higher in the 2015 Best Colleges rankings. All but two of the costliest private schools ranked in the top 50 of their respective categories. Sarah Lawrence and George Washington University, No. 54 in a tie with three other schools among National Universities, were the exceptions. Tufts University, tied at No. 27 among National Universities, was the only other school to fall outside the top 25.

The least expensive schools ranked more modestly. Blue Mountain College, tied at No. 23 among Regional Colleges (South); Alice Lloyd College, tied at No. 29 among Regional Colleges (South); and Philander Smith College, tied with two other schools at No. 43 among Regional Colleges (South), were the only three to rank within the top 50 in their category.

Five schools among the least expensive private colleges were designated as Rank Not Published. Schools listed as RNP fell in the bottom one-fourth of their ranking category. U.S. News calculates numerical ranks for these schools, but does not publish them.

Most Expensive Schools

Least Expensive Schools

Don't see your school in the top 10? Access the U.S. News College Compass to find tuition, complete rankings and much more. School officials can access historical data and rankings, including of peer institutions, via U.S. News Academic Insights.

U.S. News surveyed nearly 1,800 colleges and universities for our 2014 survey of undergraduate programs. Schools self-reported myriad data regarding their academic programs and the makeup of their student body, among other areas, making U.S. News' data the most accurate and detailed collection of college facts and figures of its kind. While U.S. News uses much of this survey data to rank schools for our annual Best Colleges rankings, the data can also be useful when examined on a smaller scale. U.S. News will now produce lists of data, separate from the overall rankings, meant to provide students and parents a means to find which schools excel, or have room to grow, in specific areas that are important to them. While the data come from the schools themselves, these lists are not related to, and have no influence over, U.S. News' rankings of Best Colleges or Best Graduate Schools . The tuition and fees data above are correct as of Sept. 2, 2014.

Susannah Snider is an education reporter at U.S. News, covering paying for college and graduate school. You can follow her on Twitter or email her at ssnider@usnews.com.