Sticker price isn’t the final price

Ranked among the U.S. News & World Report’s Best Colleges for 2026, Augustana is more affordable than families may think. Once they see their financial aid packages, students and families are often surprised at the cost manageability, compared with a large, regional public university.

It’s a difference that can be missed during an initial review of college costs. And it can make all the difference to a student's college choice.

Crisina Costa applied to 13 schools, and was getting serious about the biggest one: University of Missouri (Mizzou). But since she’s from Illinois, she decided to visit and tour Augustana, too.

“Something about it captivated my attention,” Costa recalled. It was the community of people, from her tour guide to the honors professor she met. After returning to Augustana for a second visit, she said, “I knew that I would be able to accomplish what I wanted here.”

Then Costa and her parents saw Augustana’s sticker price. 

The “sticker price” is a school’s published cost of tuition, fees, housing and meals. Financial aid, including scholarships, grants and loans, doesn’t factor into the sticker price.

Since students don’t receive financial aid packages from schools until weeks after their acceptance, the final cost is an unknown that can weigh on their minds, even with the Net Price Calculator provided on most college websites. But the wait can be worth it.

In the end, Augustana gave Costa the most in merit scholarship awards. “They saw me for who I was,” she said. “And now I’m receiving these amazing opportunities, and also being rewarded for it.”

Costa used her Augie Choice $2,000 – a grant every Augustana student can use towards an internship, research or creative project, or study abroad – to travel to Holden Village in Chelan, Wash., during J-term last year. Last year she also went to Greece, and has hopes for Guatemala next year.

“Augustana is going to help you get where you want to go,” she tells students during visit tours that she now leads, as an Augustana admissions ambassador.

Cost is one thing, worth is another

Justin Verlinden grew up in the Quad Cities as a fan of the University of Kentucky men’s basketball team. He thought of Kentucky as his dream school, until he visited.

“For starters,” he said, “it was too big.” Originally, he thought more people meant more friends, but soon realized he might just feel lost.

Also, “in a 600-person class, how could I ask for help if I needed it? Thinking ahead to grad school, how was I supposed to establish connections with my professors for letters of recommendation when they wouldn’t even be teaching half the time?”

Once he narrowed his list to smaller liberal arts colleges, then visited and applied, he found the perfect place — Augustana, and not just because it was less expensive.

“Augustana offered me what state schools couldn’t: small class sizes, personalized attention from professors (all of whom teach classes at Augustana… no TAs), the ability to pursue multiple majors and minors, endless opportunities for career/professional development, a familial culture on the cross country and track teams… and the capability to become the person I knew I wanted to become.”

It all brought Verlinden to where is today: the cognitive science Ph.D. program at the University of Kentucky. Because Augustana graduates sometimes find that, empowered by their Augustana experience and connections, the large public university can become the next step on their career paths.