Claremont Colleges, USC, Occidental Some of The Most Expensive Schools in America

By Dennis Romero Fri., Oct. 12 2012 at 12:56 PM

lafleur

We recently told you -- and you were surprised -- that some of the best universities in the world are right here in Los Angeles, including number-one Caltech and number-13 UCLA, according a British ranking.

But, given that this is L.A., land of the Hollywood mogul and real estate billionaire, we also have some of the nation's most expensive colleges, too.

A CampusGrotto lineup of the top wallet-busting institutions has more than a few of our own:

Claremont's Harvey Mudd topped the SoCal colleges on the list, coming in at a respectable number three, with a per-student undergrad cost (tuition, room and board and fees) of $58,913.

You know what you could buy with $59,000? A loaded Porsche Cayman.

Claremont McKenna College made number 6, with an average annual cost of $58,065.

Pitzer College, also in Claremont, ranked 15th with a parental bill of $57,266.

Next up: Scripps College: $57,088. Yep, it's in Claremont.

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Are you sensing a trend here? They're all part of the Claremont Colleges consortium of private schools. But one's missing? No: Pomona College also made the list, coming in at 74, with an annual cost of $55,000.

Other area schools:

President Obama's alma mater, Occidental, came it at 24 with a cost of $57,028.

USC came in at 29 with a price of $56,903.

Pepperdine ranked at 65 with a price tag of $55,372.

Chapman University in Orange County ranked 93rd with a cost of $53,608.

And the most expensive college in America is ... ? See the whole list here. And let us know if we missed any other SoCal schools in the ranking.

[@dennisjromero / djromero@laweekly.com / @LAWeeklyNews]

Tags:

city rankings, Claremont Colleges, college, Harvey Mudd, Pomona College, universities, USC

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nocare

so what are the dropout statistics ? and how many do ever actually payoff such a loan ?

is it worth it?

Aleen Bedrosian

you forgot art center college of design in pasadena

abramsrl

And the point is ???? It's not how much one spends but the bang one gets for the buck.

I am not saying more money means the school is better, but knowing the cost without knowing what one receives in return is not much help.

How beneficial is it to spend $30K and four years getting a 3rd rate education? After you're out of college for 5 years and discover that you really don't know anything, it is not likely you'll return for another 4 years. On the other hand, it could be that those paying $15K are getting the best education and those paying almost $60K are receiving an inferior education.

I happen to be rather familiar with many of these undergraduate schools and UCLA. Here's what I think parents should consider:

How motivated is your child? Your kid may not be ready for college. The break down, which I have discerned, holds true for colleges from the public to ritziest of the private is that foreign students are the most motivated. The average American child is unable to properly value the benefit of an education. I guess one has to come from a background where they see death, violence and deprivation to comprehend the opportunity.

Other than trading in your American kid for one Made in China (Oh, the lucky Gays who are grabbing up all the smart Asian kids!! LOL), I am clueless. Your child is a product of our culture, tan triste!