St. Mary’s College often makes the top (or near the top) of lists for colleges across the country in a number of categories. But the college has made a new “top” list that it probably won’t go out of its way to publicize. It has the fourth highest tuition of any public college in the country. The average tuition for public colleges is $6,397 while St. Mary’s tuition is more than twice that, at $13,234.

The only public colleges with higher tuitions are Pennsylvania State University (main campus), University of Pittsburgh (Pittsburgh campus) and University of Vermont.
The listing from the U.S. Department of Education comes from several recently released College Affordability and Transparency Lists as part of its effort to help students make informed decisions about their choice for higher education. These lists are deemed an important part of the Obama Administration’s work to make college costs more transparent and to boost college affordability and accessibility. More broadly, this announcement reflects President Obama’s commitment to delivering a government that is more open, transparent and accountable to the American people, according to the education department’s website..
“These lists are a helpful tool for students and families as they determine what college or university is the best fit for them,” said Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “We hope this information will encourage schools to continue their efforts to make the costs of college more transparent so students make informed decisions and aren’t saddled with unmanageable debt.”
The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) called for the College Affordability and Transparency Lists to be created by July 1 of this year. Under the requirements, six lists will be created. Three lists focus on tuition and fees, and three others look at the institution’s “average net price,” which is the average price of attendance that is paid by fulltime students after grants and scholarships are taken into account. Each list will be broken out into nine different sectors to allow students to compare costs at similar types of institutions, providing the following information in simple and understandable terms:
The Lists are:
1. Highest tuition and fees (top 5 percent)