Real costs by region · Northeast · families earning under $30,000
Across 195 Northeast colleges, families earning under $30,000 paid between $41 and $50,140 a year. The 25 cheapest are all under $6,000 — and 12 of them are private.
| School | Type | Admit | Sticker / yr | This band paidPaid |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dartmouth College | Private | 5% | $87,793 | $41 |
| CUNY Bernard M Baruch College | Public | 48% | $14,170 | $607 |
| CUNY Brooklyn College | Public | 58% | $14,151 | $1,029 |
| CUNY Hunter College | Public | 54% | $13,905 | $1,029 |
| CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice | Public | 57% | $14,212 | $1,073 |
| Amherst College | Private | 9% | $87,640 | $1,086 |
| CUNY City College | Public | 60% | $14,403 | $1,251 |
| Smith College | Private | 21% | $86,030 | $1,363 |
| CUNY Queens College | Public | 64% | $14,367 | $1,541 |
| CUNY Lehman College | Public | 57% | $14,121 | $1,589 |
| Cornell University | Private | 9% | $88,140 | $1,776 |
| Northeastern University | Private | 5% | $84,641 | $2,264 |
| Bates College | Private | 13% | $83,532 | $2,397 |
| Wellesley College | Private | 14% | $86,290 | $2,546 |
| CUNY York College | Public | 64% | $14,330 | $2,861 |
| Bowdoin College | Private | 7% | $85,100 | $3,145 |
| CUNY New York City College of Technology | Public | 80% | $14,110 | $3,810 |
| College of Staten Island CUNY | Public | 92% | $14,795 | $3,903 |
| Colby College | Private | 7% | $85,420 | $4,049 |
| Boston College | Private | 16% | $89,493 | $4,284 |
| CUNY Medgar Evers College | Public | 86% | $14,771 | $4,368 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | Private | 4% | $89,472 | $4,570 |
| Wesleyan University | Private | 16% | $89,020 | $4,871 |
| Farmingdale State College | Public | 63% | $18,966 | $4,933 |
| University of Maine at Presque Isle | Public | 100% | $19,113 | $5,934 |
"Paid" is the average net price reported to the U.S. Department of Education for aided families at under $30,000 household income — planning data, not an offer. Public colleges show in-state prices; out-of-state families typically pay more. Colleges enrolling fewer than 1,000 students are excluded, because federal price cells at very small schools are volatile enough to manufacture patterns that disappear at scale. A low price and a low admit rate are different things — the admit column is there so the two are never confused.
$30,000–$48,000 · $48,000–$75,000 · $75,000–$110,000 · over $110,000
Mid-Atlantic · Southeast · Midwest · Southwest · West
Connecticut · Maine · Massachusetts · New Hampshire · New York
Why three likely admits is the floor for a safe season →
Parent PLUS loans: the caps and the trap →
These are averages. Your family isn't average.
Run any of these schools against your student's real GPA, your income band, and your actual high school — odds with the math shown, the paperwork each requires, and the season's deadlines. First three schools free.