<p>learnmestuff, Michigan’s peers are the top 40 universities in the nation. Below is the cost of attendence at those 40 universities:</p>
<p>Georgetown University: $50,500
Boston College: $50,000
New York University: $50,000
Johns Hopkins University: $49,500
Tufts University: $49,500
University of Chicago: $49,500
Vanderbilt University: $49,500
Washington University-St Louis: $49,500
Brown University: $49,000
Carnegie Mellon University: $49,000
Cornell University: $49,000
Harvard University: $49,000
Northwestern University: $49,000
University of Pennsylvania: $49,000
University of Southern California: $49,000
Brandeis University: $48,500
Massachusetts Institute of Technology: $48,500
Stanford University: $48,500
Columbia University: $48,000
Dartmouth College: $48,000
Duke University: $48,000
Emory University: $48,000
Lehigh University: $48,000
Yale University: $48,000
Princeton University: $47,000
University of Notre Dame: $47,000</p>
<p>California Institute of Technology: $46,000
Wake Forest University: $46,000
University of California-Berkeley: $43,500
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor: $42,000
University of California-Los Angeles: $42,000
Rice University: $41,500
University of California-San Diego: $40,000
University of Virginia: $38,000</p>
<p>College of William & Mary: $37,000
University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign: $37,000
University of Texas-Austin: $33,500
University of Wisconsin-Madison: $32,500
Georgia Institute of Technology: $32,000
University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill: $31,500</p>
<p>As the figures above show, Michigan is not as expensive as most of its peers. In fact, 26 of its 39 (66.67%) peers are at least $5,000/year more expensive. Only 6 (15%) of Michigan’s 39 peers are more than $5,000 cheaper. </p>
<p>Of course, as we all know, financial aid and scholarships are the great equalizers. With the exception of Harvard and Princeton (both of which have endowments of $2 million/student, compared to Michigan’s $200,000/student), students attending most elite universities graduate with $15,000-$25,000 debt. That’s the unfortunate cost of attending elite universities. To suggest that Michigan is “unethical” and “immature”, or that it is somehow much worse than its peers is not a fair charge. Yes, Michigan is expensive and it can do more to help, but one must recognize its limitations and acknowledge that it is not appreciably worse than its peers.</p>