Knowing the Real Cost

When you're making decisions about college, you're bound to see a lot of dollar signs in a lot of different places; this makes "cents" because, let's face it--college is an investment in your future. In order to access resources like quality professors and research labs and to take advantage of sports programs and extracurricular activities, you'll need to help support them financially.

When you're talking about things like tuition and fees, you may be asked to believe that simply paying more money means getting a better education. Of course, you probably know that other universities sometimes charge big bucks for their degrees without giving you the education you're paying for. On the other hand, state universities like UMass can often provide incredible resources at a very reasonable rate.

"But UMass Boston is really inexpensive compared to other universities," you might be saying to yourself, "Does that mean that I'm getting a half-rate education?" The answer to this question is resoundingly NO!!! Here's why (these figures are rounded to the nearest ten spot):

$8,030:

What you'll pay per year in total tuition & fees as a full-time undergraduate student;

$8,330:

What the Commonwealth of Massachusetts pays on your behalf;

$16,360:

What the dollar value of your UMass Boston education is at the end of the day.

So you see -- UMass Boston is able to keep its prices reasonable AND still provide you with a top-notch education.