Sticker price per year (in-state at public colleges)
$39,324
$41,003
Average paid after grants (in-state at public colleges)
$25,808
$33,675
Average paid from out of state, estimated
$48,272
$56,067
What in-state families with aid paid, by income
Measure
Virginia Tech
Penn State
Under $30,000
$11,378
$22,193
$30,000–$48,000
$9,464
$21,267
$48,000–$75,000
$15,085
$25,458
$75,000–$110,000
$22,747
$31,948
Over $110,000
$35,800
$39,140
After you start
Measure
Virginia Tech
Penn State
Undergrads
30,923
42,284
Graduate within 6 years
86%
86%
Come back for year two
93%
93%
Median earnings 10 years after starting
$88,716
$71,762
Median debt at graduation
$20,500
$24,500
Highlighted only when the gap is at least 5%. "Average paid" is what students who got federal aid paid per year after grants, not a price quote; at public colleges the income rows are in-state students. The out-of-state estimate adds a public college's extra out-of-state tuition to its in-state average; out-of-state students usually get less aid, so many pay more. How we get our numbers