By Jeffrey Brainard

The ranks of the most expensive colleges have grown again: 100 institutions are charging $50,000 or more for tuition, fees, room, and board in 2010-11, according to a Chronicle analysis of data released last week by the College Board. That's well above the 58 universities and colleges that charged that much in 2009-10, and a major jump from the year before, when only five colleges were priced over $50,000.

This year marks a milestone as the first public institution has joined that elite club: the University of California at Berkeley is charging out-of-state residents $50,649 for tuition, fees, room, and board. (The price for in-state residents is only $27,770.)

All of the other 99 colleges charging $50,000 or more are private. They made up 9 percent of the 1,058 private institutions reporting any amount for tuition, fees, room, and board.

To be sure, many students at the most-expensive institutions are paying significantly less than the sticker price, thanks to financial aid. Net prices, including financial aid, are not available by institution for 2010-11. But the College Board estimates that the average net price for tuition, fees, room, and board at private, four-year colleges has fallen slightly from the level five years ago, when adjusted for inflation, to $21,020 this year.

Still, some students pay the full, published prices. And college officials and analysts have worried (see last year's 50K club article) that if list prices continue to rise, they may drive away applicants and draw pressure from policy makers. A sticker price of $50,000 is more than twice the annual income for a family of four living at the poverty line, $22,050.

But other observers forecast little decline in the number of students eager to attend elite institutions charging big sticker prices.

Public Institutions charging $50,000 or more:

U. of California at Berkeley (out-of-state residents) $ 50,649

Related Content:

Tuition Over Time, 1999-2010
Tuition and Fees, 2010-11
Federal Grant Aid Jumps as College Prices Go Up Again

http://chronicle.com/article/A-Public-University-Joins-the/125207/