PAYING FOR COLLEGE IS expensive, and many families have felt the pinch of rising tuition costs over time.

College tuition prices are a lot higher today compared with two decades ago. For instance, the average cost for tuition and fees among public and private National Universities – schools that are often research-oriented and offer bachelor's, master's and doctoral degrees – has risen significantly since 2000, according to U.S. News data. Those increases aren't limited to these universities; costs at other four-year institutions and community colleges have also grown.

Higher education policy analysts say most of the hikes in tuition among private and public four-year institutions coincided with the Great Recession, though the economic downturn resulting from the coronavirus pandemic may affect tuition costs in the years to come.

In fact, in-state tuition prices among public National Universities grew by 72% over the period from 2008 to 2021, U.S. News data shows. That increase was more than the published tuition hikes among private National Universities during that period.

Experts say state schools have typically had more room to increase tuition levels compared with their private counterparts, and finding a bargain price at the state level is becoming harder.

Given these higher tuition costs, students are giving nearly equal weight to price and academics when making their college selection. Thirty-eight percent of families say financial considerations, such as the total cost of attending or the financial aid package, were the deciding factor in their final choice, according to the 2020 Sallie Mae survey How America Pays for College.

Many higher education experts recommend that prospective students look beyond published prices since the tuition listed may not be the actual amount they'll pay after financial aid and institutional grants. For families and prospective college-bound students, here are a few questions and answers on tuition costs.

How Much Is College Tuition?
Tuition and fees vary from college to college.

In looking just at schools ranked in the National Universities category, for example, the average cost of tuition and fees for the 2020–2021 school year was $41,411 at private colleges, $11,171 for state residents at public colleges and $26,809 for out-of-state students at state schools, according to data reported to U.S. News in an annual survey. When it comes to costs, the average tuition and fees to attend an in-state public National University is 73% less than the average sticker price charged at a private institution.

[ READ: See the Average College Tuition in 2020-2021. ]
At public two-year institutions, tuition and fees cost $3,730 on average for in-state, in-district students in 2019-2020, according to data collected in the College Board's annual survey.

What Are the Differences Between Tuition and Fees?
The biggest chunk of college costs is usually tuition – the amount of money required for instruction. Especially at the undergraduate level, students are often required to pay fees; these costs usually need to be paid to enroll in and attend class.

"It really all should be called tuition, but some play a little shell game when they don't want to advertise tuition increases. So they increase a fee over here, and you end up with something complicated like that. Others include it all as one straight fee," says Nate Johnson, founder and principal of Postsecondary Analytics, a Florida-based higher education research firm.

Johnson says students and parents should look to college guides that standardize these amounts for apples-to-apples comparisons. For instance, U.S. News Best Colleges standardizes sticker prices, listing the combined published prices of tuition and fees for each school.

How Do I Use a Tuition Calculator?
The cost of attendance isn't always clear, since many families don't pay the sticker price once financial aid and institutional grants are factored into the bill.

"I would advise all families to fill out the net price calculator on the website for each school under consideration to have the best possible understanding of the costs involved at the various options," says Colleen Ganjian, founder of DC College Counseling.

[ READ: What to Know About a College's Net Price Calculator. ]
Net price is the amount students pay to attend an institution for an academic year after subtracting scholarships and grants. In essence, net price is the final price a family can expect to pay, and it's often lower than the published price.

The Department of Education's College Scorecard includes links to schools' net price calculators. Federal guidelines require colleges and universities to provide an online net price calculator. These calculators – intended for first-time, full-time undergraduate students – produce estimated values based on the information the student or parent provides.