For many college students, attending a prestigious Ivy League school is a dream come true.

But many commentators and admissions experts now have a slightly wider view of schools that are on par with the Ivy League. These days, several colleges, including Stanford University, are known as "Ivy-Plus" schools. 

Along with Stanford, schools like Massachusetts Institute of Technology, The University of Chicago and Duke University are among those commonly referred to as Ivy Plus, due to their comparable selectivity, world-renowned research abilities and successful outcomes for alumni.

Stanford frequently ranks among the top universities in the U.S., and even higher than several Ivy League schools by some rankings, including Wall Street Journal's and U.S. News and World Report's.

But such a highly regarded school comes at a price. For the 2024-25 school year, tuition alone at Stanford costs $65,127. Additional costs for things like housing, food and supplies brings the estimated total cost of attendance to $92,892 a year, according to Stanford's website.

You may not have to pay all of that, though. Stanford offers need-based financial aid for qualifying students, with the class of 2027's aid recipients receiving an average of $62,898 for the year in scholarships from Stanford itself, according to its website.

Here's how much students typically pay to go to Stanford.

A price that pays off

On average, federal financial aid recipients pay $10,581 a year to go to Stanford, according to the Department of Education's College Scorecard. Just 6% of students take out federal loans to pay for Stanford, and those who do graduate with a median debt of $12,000, ED says.

Families earning less than $75,000 pay an average of $4,380 a year, according to Stanford, and 98% of students from those families qualify for institutional scholarship aid.

Stanford considers not just income, but family size, assets and whether you have siblings in college to determine eligibility for aid, it says.

The cost of a Stanford education typically pays off. As of 2023, the median salary for Stanford alums with zero to five years of experience is $98,900, according to Payscale. That jumps to $177,500 a year for alumni with 10 or more years of experience. 

Over half (52%) of Stanford graduates hold bachelor's degrees in science, technology, engineering or math, Payscale says, which can help explain why median salaries are so high. These degrees are often among the highest-earning, regardless of institution.

Plus, Stanford's close proximity to Silicon Valley may help current students and graduates score internships and jobs at some of the biggest and best-paying companies in tech. 

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