IU net price best value for Big Ten

The calculations are in. Big Ten tuitions have been compared, and at IU, the price  seems right.

The U.S. Department of Education’s College Navigator website calculated the average net price of every college in the country and determined IU has the lowest net cost of all Big Ten universities.

The average net cost is the average amount that all in-state students pay for tuition, room and board and living expenses after financial aid.

“We have the highest financial aid offerings in the Big Ten, so you take a very low tuition rate and combine it with a very aggressive financial aid amount that holds down the cost and makes it quite affordable,” said Neil Theobald, vice president and chief financial officer of IU.  

IU’s average net price for 2008 and 2009 was $10,367 according to the published rankings. That is $8,500 less than the most expensive school, Penn State, which is $19,056.

IU spokesman Larry MacIntyre said one of the reasons for the low price is President McRobbie’s commitment to expanding the amount of money available for student
financial aid.

“Students can choose the campus or university that they most prefer and not have to take into account whether they can afford to do it or not,” Theobald said.

The College Navigator research was based solely on the average cost for in-state students, but Theobald said IU is working on making out-of-state tuition costs more affordable as well.

Sophomore Madi Hall, an out-of-state student from California, agreed that the out-of-state tuition is high, but she said she couldn’t go to school in California for cheaper.

“It’s rather steep, and it went up a lot this past year, but the truth is the University of California schools’ in-state tuition is just as expensive,” Hall said.

Theobald said IU will continue to focus on obtaining grants for scholarships to continue making IU affordable.

“This has been a focus of President McRobbie’s since he was provost,” Theobald said. “So this is really the culmination of five years of very hard work by a lot of very talented people.”