Most costly states to get an education?

Hey guys, I am starting to plan for college, but I'm a bit thrown off by the differing costs of college - not just tuition, but room and board, books and supplies, and everything else! So, I was curious, in which states is attending college the most expensive overall?

Sure, every state has a variety of colleges, from public to private, with differing costs, but there are states where the average cost of tuition and the cost of living is generally higher.

In general, higher education tends to be more costly in states such as Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, and Connecticut, mainly because of the concentration of private institutions that have high tuition rates, like Harvard, MIT, and Brown. The cost of living in these states is also typically higher than the national average.

On the West Coast, California is a state known for high-cost education, primarily because of the high tuition at both the state schools (such as the Universities of California and the California State Universities) and the private institutions (like Stanford and USC). In addition, the cost of living in California is one of the highest in the nation.

Pennsylvania and New York in the Mid-Atlantic region also tend to have high education costs. Pennsylvania hosts several prestigious, private universities like the University of Pennsylvania and Carnegie Mellon, which can increase the average cost of tuition in the state. In New York, not only are the tuition fees high at many institutions, but the cost of living, especially in areas like New York City, can be significantly elevated.

Don't get discouraged, though! Remember that many of these institutions offer need-based financial aid that could significantly offset these costs. Make use of each college's net price calculator to get a better estimate of what you might actually pay. And of course, exploring in-state public universities and colleges can be a more economical choice too.