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Compare colleges side by side
Choose two or three universities, type your family income and your SAT: the table recalculates the price you would likely pay and where you stand.
Lowest net price for your income
$29,682
| Figure | UCLA | USC | NYU |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net price at your income (2023-24) | $29,682 | $56,116 | $66,876 |
| Sticker price | $45,500 (2026-27) | $103,162 (2026-27) | $100,998 (2026-27) |
| Admit rate, newest cycle | 10.8% (1 in 9) | 11.2% (1 in 9) | 9.06% (1 in 11) |
| SAT middle 50% | test-free | 1,470 to 1,540 | 1,480 to 1,550 |
| Enrolled scoring below you | n/a | 2% | 1% |
| This site’s label | Reach | Reach | Reach |
| Graduated within 6 years | 93% | 92% | 88% |
| Median earnings 10 years after entry | $82,511 | $92,498 | $82,509 |
| Median federal debt at graduation | $14,000 | $18,000 | $20,500 |
Income band used: $110,001 and up. Out-of-state students at a public university: in-state net price plus the tuition gap.
Federal figures (College Scorecard) and each university’s newest published cycle. How this is calculated.
Built by Radif Partners · Method and data · Editorial policy
Comparing colleges on the sticker price is the classic mistake: the figure families pay depends on income, residency and the school's aid policy, and the ranking of three schools can flip from one family to the next. This comparison reads, for each university, the average net price paid by families on federal aid in your income band in 2023-24 (College Scorecard), the sticker price of its newest published budget, the admit rate of its newest cycle, the SAT middle 50% of enrolled students, and three outcomes: the share graduating within six years, median earnings ten years after entry and median federal debt at graduation. With a family income of $120,000, for example, the average net price was $29,682 at UCLA for a Californian, $63,882 for a nonresident once the tuition gap is added, $56,116 at USC and $66,876 at NYU.
What to compare, in order
Start with the net price at your income, because it decides whether an offer is possible at all. Then look at the graduation rate: a school where 93% of students finish within six years, like UCLA, and one where the share is lower are not the same purchase, since every extra semester is paid at the full rate and delays a salary. Earnings ten years after entry and federal debt at graduation come last. They describe all students of the university, every major mixed, and say more about the student body than about what one program will do for you.
Three Los Angeles and New York names, one family
The default comparison above puts UCLA, USC and NYU together because the three are searched together. Their published sticker prices differ by tens of thousands of dollars, and their admit rates sit in the same band: 10.8% at UCLA, 11.2% at USC and 9.06% at NYU in their newest cycles on file. The net price tells another story. At incomes under $30,000 the average was $5,579 at UCLA, $13,516 at USC and $16,977 at NYU. Change the income in the tool and watch the order move: the private universities' grants shrink as income rises, while UCLA's resident price rises more slowly until the top band.
USC: four years at your income
Four-year net price (estimate)
$106,060
| Year one (federal average, 2023-24) | $24,976 |
| Year four at your increase | $28,095 |
The increase is your assumption; aid is re-assessed every year on the new FAFSA.
When residency decides
For a student from outside California, UCLA's federal net price is not the right figure: it covers residents only. The comparison then adds the published gap between out-of-state and in-state tuition and fees ($34,200 in 2024-25), which can make a private university with generous need-based aid the cheaper option for a middle-income family. Answer "no" to the residency question to see it. The gap is an upper figure, since some campuses give nonresident scholarships, but the University of California gives little need-based aid to nonresidents.
Reading the label in a comparison
The "reach, target, likely" line uses one rule for every school, written on the method page: a school admitting under 15% is a reach for everyone, and above that the label follows where your SAT falls in the enrolled range. Two schools labelled "target" are not equally likely: the label only sorts a list into three piles. If you took the ACT, convert it first with the ACT to SAT table. For test-free schools the score is ignored and the label follows the admit rate.
What the comparison cannot show
Merit scholarships are not in the federal averages of high-income bands in a way you can rely on, and some universities, NYU among them, have announced new tuition promises for lower incomes that postdate the 2023-24 figures. Each university page lists what the school itself publishes about its aid. Before deciding between two admissions, compare the award letters line by line: grants are money you keep, while loans and work-study are ways of paying the rest.