College tuition keeps rising in N.J., outpacing rate of inflation

By Kelly Heyboer/ The Star-Ledger

Students at New Jersey’s four-year colleges and universities will have to dig a little deeper to pay their bills this fall as tuition and fees continue to climb faster than the rate of inflation on most campuses, according to a Star-Ledger survey of this year’s hikes.

Undergraduates will pay between 0.2 percent and 6.1 percent more during the 2012-2013 school year, according to a review of rates at two dozen public and private colleges and universities.

Tuition and mandatory fees for in-state students at the state’s public colleges will range from $10,422 at New Jersey City University to $14,740 at New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark. At the state’s private colleges, tuition and fees range from $25,050 at Bloomfield College to $43,196 at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken.

Once room, board and books are added to the tuition bill, most students will pay thousands more.

Though several schools said they made an effort to cut costs and hold down hikes this year, many students are frustrated their tuition bills continue to climb.

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