Sarah Lawrence College Named America’s Most Expensive School

In 2010 alone, The Huffington Post featured Sarah Lawrence among the nation's top hipster institutions, Unigo included the college in its top ten brainiest and in August, the bohemian Bronxville school ranked number one on Forbes list of most expensive dorm rooms.

Now, Sarah Lawrence can add another top ten trophy to its cabinet. A new set of Forbes rankings published October 4th identifies the college as the most expensive institution in America, coming in at a whopping $57,556 for tuition, fees, room and board, marking a 6.4% increase since last year alone.

Karen Lawrence, president of Sarah Lawrence College, defends the robust costs. Lawrence attributes much of the fees to the school's unique pedagogic philosophy and 9:1 student-faculty ratio, an area where larger schools in Forbes's top 5 – such as Columbia University and Wesleyan University – cannot compete.

"Unlike any other college or university in the U.S., Sarah Lawrence requires one-on-one student faculty meetings as part of every seminar," said Lawrence. Seminars at Sarah Lawrence account for approximately 94% of classes. Sarah Lawrence students are also assigned a faculty member to serve as his/her personal mentor or advisor, which proves much more costly than staff advisors.

"As a result, Sarah Lawrence students spend almost twice the time in discussions with their teachers as students at even the most prestigious liberal arts schools," she added.

Lawrence said that although this perk results in costly tuition rates, it provides students with "unparalleled guidance" and allows graduates to approach future academic or professional endeavors with zeal and intellectual self-assurance.

Many of America's priciest colleges share a few traits with Sarah Lawrence: they're small, private, prestigious and Northeastern. Forbes compiled schools according to highest tuition fees, room and board costs, relying on data collected by Campus Grotto the Chronicle of Higher Education. The magazine also clarified that financial aid, scholarships and factors like student/faculty ratios are not taken into account.