Top schools may not be as expensive as they appear

While the superficial price of the average college tuition continues to increase, some major universities are providing financial aid for school to a surprising majority of students, according to a recent report by U.S. News. For example, the news source pointed to Harvard University, which offered a 75 percent discount to two-thirds of its new students in 2011.

The article stated that 60 percent of the Harvard student community getting need-based financial aid for college paid just under $15,000 during one academic year, including tuition, fees, room and board, even though Harvard's official price tag is much closer to $40,000 a year.

A similar trend toward reduced costs for college has emerged at the University of Richmond, according to U.S. News.

"We want to make sure that [for] students who have earned admission to Richmond, the cost of attendance does not stand in their way of joining our community," says Nanci Tessier, vice president of the University of Richmond, enrollment management. "We want to make sure that our education is accessible to them. Because of that, we devote significant financial resources."

Oddly, Richmond isn't on U.S. News' top 25 national schools who provide the best packages of financial aid for college. The top five is rounded out by Harvard, Yale, Princeton and Stanford and Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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