The listed price is often not what our colleges actually cost to attend. Merit and need-based aid can make a huge difference, lowering costs and making college much more affordable.
- If your family is like 96 percent of the families of first-time students at Minnesota’s private colleges, your tuition bill will be reduced by grants and scholarships you never have to pay back.
- The average net tuition for first-year students at our colleges is $14,236 because first-year students receive an average of $25,052 in grants and scholarships — covering 66 percent of tuition costs.
- That’s largely possible because our institutions award more than $730 million in institutional grants and scholarships.
Learn more background on private college pricing.
Looking at cost of attendance
There are other expenses that families should take into account that, together with tuition and fees, make up the cost of attendance. They include:
tuition & fees + room & board + books & supplies + transportation + personal expenses —————————————————————————— COST OF ATTENDANCE
The "net price" — which is the total that net price calculators help estimate — subtracts grants and scholarships from the total cost of attendance:
cost of attendance - grants & scholarships —————————————————————————— NET PRICE
Note that colleges may also look at a “net direct price” calculation. This sums up tuition, fees and room and board as “direct costs.” When all gift aid is subtracted from that total, that’s how you reach your “net direct cost.”