COST COMPARISON OF SCHOOLS IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST (YEARLY FIGURES)

• The information below is just a real simple cost analysis.  The cost/savings figures indicate what the difference in the cost of school, based on tuition and fees alone would be if you compared that school with Lewis-Clark State.  The one assumption of this is that if you were a non-Idaho resident that I could offer you an out-of-state waiver or you earn through academics, etc… and the other school would consider you an in-state resident or waive your out-of-state fees.
• Please note that this is merely information.  Obviously, I am making a comparison between LCSC and other schools, but this information is out there for you to find yourself.
• Financial issues are a part of your decision in schools, and if you are looking at this then it is likely that running is important as well.  You should take into consideration everything that has value and is important to you.  IE—Will you run? Will you travel? Will you get an opportunity to run in a national championship? Will you be in debt when you are done?  If so, how much?  Are you getting the education you want?  What will you be able to tell your kids and friends in 10 years about the experience (all-conference, all-region, all-american)?  Etc….
• One thing to look at when viewing the figures below is to consider that this is only a single year.  Do you plan on graduating in 3, 4 or 5 years?  Then multiply the difference by that number of years.  IE—Costs $1,383.00 a year more to go to Eastern Oregon University than LCSC.  If you graduate in the average amount of time it takes to graduate (~4.5 years) then over that period of time you would have spent $6,223.00 more in tuition and fees at EOU than if you had been at LCSC.  If you also assume that the cost of school goes up each year, then the difference between LCSC and other schools is likely to continue to get bigger.  Additionally, if LCSC is able to offer scholarship(s) for running or other criteria, the difference continues to grow.  Bottom line is LCSC is less expensive.
• These are also all 4-year schools.  In most cases, 4-year schools cannot compete financially with the junior colleges, however the JC's are catching up very quickly in tuition and fee costs.  There are both pro’s and con’s to running at a JC and I would encourage you to check it out completely.
• These figures came directly from the current web pages of the school listed.  If you are comparing some other school than what is listed, I would encourage you to do this same exercise.

2003-04 SCHOOL YEAR COSTS ARE HIGHLIGHTED, OTHERWISE NUMBERS ARE FROM 2002-03 (I AM UPDATING AS I GET INFORMATION.  THE COST SAVINGS ARE BASED ON LAST YEAR UNLESS I HAVE THIS YEAR'S FIGURES).