Whether you’re going into college soon, you’ve just entered college, or you have a child who’s going into college, you might want to do your own research to learn more about many elements of the collegiate experience. One of those elements is tuition. Tuition might not be your favorite thing to talk about, but it’s a good one to know a bit more about. If you want to know more about how colleges spend your tuition, here’s what you should consider.
The Costs of Your Education
First off, a lot of the money goes to direct education costs. That includes things like teachers’ salaries as well as student aid. On average, $61.46 of every $100 of tuition goes to these kinds of direct costs. Here’s the breakdown of these costs:
- $15.81 – Salaries
- $11.47 – General Instruction Expenses
- $9.61 – Auxiliary Student Enterprises
- $8.26 – Academic Support
- $8.15 – Institutional Support
- $4.75 – Student Services
- $3.41 – Grants and Financial Aid
That’s definitely a great thing to know. Whenever you’re paying your tuition, most of the tuition does actually go back into the university. This is especially true with public universities, but it’s a combined total of both public and private universities.
General University Costs
There are other elements of running a school that require money but might not be as much of a traditional classroom experience. Although you might not realize it, your tuition goes to these things as well, making up on average $348.54 of every $100. This is the breakdown of the cost:
- $15.58 – Hospitals and Healthcare
- $11.66 – Research
- $6.25 – Other, Including Taxes and Liabilities
- $4.52 – Public Services
- $0.53 – Independent Operations
Some of these elements do actually play a huge part in your university experience. Hospitals, for example, may be a necessity for medical students, who need hands-on experience before they start to practice as a doctor. Either way, however, they’re mostly tertiary.
Private Colleges Versus Public Colleges
Ask someone the main difference between a private college and a public college and they’re likely to respond, “The cost.” Although many people may argue that a private college is more expensive because it’s more high-quality, the fact remains that most people just think that private colleges are more expensive than public ones.
When you look into the data, however, the answer actually gets even more interesting. For example, of your tuition, a public school will typically utilize $5,987.96 on salaries and general instruction expenses. A private school will utilize $15,315.08, which is more than two and a half times the public school number.
On the other hand, some numbers don’t actually change that much. For some categories, the discrepancy is the opposite. A public four-year college will use approximately $748.50 of your tuition to help with student grants, while a private one will use $239.38 of your tuition on average for the same thing.
Conclusion
Tuition is a complicated and confusing subject, and it’s one that it’s incredibly natural to be uncertain about. If you want to learn more about tuition, you definitely should; it’s an important thing to know about, especially if yourself or someone close to you wants to learn more as well.
