How much does it cost to attend college in Ohio? These schools have highest sticker price

“Don’t worry, you’re not going to pay this amount.”

When prospective students and their families look up how much it costs to attend Otterbein University, those words appear in big red text right next to a breakdown of this year’s estimated cost of attendance, a ticket price of just over $50,000.

Students don’t even see the cost breakdown until they scroll past multiple sections of information about scholarships, need-based aid, state and federal grants, and a note that 100% of traditional first-year students receive merit or need-based aid.

That’s because the university wants to set the record straight on what it really costs students to attend college, Otterbein’s Vice President of Enrollment Management Jefferson Blackburn-Smith said.

“We want to be the most transparent school in Ohio when it comes to financial aid,” Blackburn-Smith said.

It’s a decades-old narrative that puts some families of college-bound students in shock: College is expensive. Headlines about colleges charging six-figures a year to attend college — like Vanderbilt University now charging nearly $100,000 for tuition, fees and room and board — can make heads spin.

But university administrators and higher education experts say they are just as exasperated trying to help those students and their families understand that most students don’t pay anywhere close to the full sticker price.

But why exactly is that?

Sticker shock: Breaking down the published price vs. net price

All U.S. colleges and universities that receive federal funding are required to make their cost of attendance publicly available. Factors like state funding, campus size and projected revenue help determine what the cost of attendance figure will be.

During the 2024-25 academic year, the average published price, also known as the sticker price, for tuition and fees for full-time, in-state undergraduates at public four-year universities was $11,610, according to the College Board’s annual report. That was about $300 higher than the previous year.

The average published price for undergraduate students at private, nonprofit, four-year universities was $43,350 — about $1,600 higher than the year before.

One look at the sticker price and some families have already crossed a school off their list, Blackburn-Smith said. But that’s not what most students will pay, he said.

Just like instructional costs and state…