Jan 20, 2012 By Jason Ferguson

Full Sail University currently offers 25 bachelor’s degrees on campus and online, with tuition costs ranging from $56,000 to $80,500. How does this compare to the cost of other institutions’ bachelor’s degree programs? On average, a Full Sail bachelor’s degree costs $9,040 less than one from one of Florida’s five largest public universities and $20,419 less than one from one of Florida’s five largest private colleges.

We analyzed tuition costs at ten other schools in Florida, a group of schools that are – according to the data collated by the U.S. Department of Education that is available at the National Center for Education Statistics’ IPEDS data site – the five largest public universities in Florida and the five largest private colleges in Florida.

We chose to look at the Florida schools with the largest student populations, as we felt that criterion was a good indicator of how accessible these institutions were from a financial perspective. And, since 77% of Full Sail’s students come from out of state, we looked solely at out-of-state tuition costs. Yes, there are less expensive community college and in-state university options across the country; however, we believe that the specialization and quality of Full Sail’s curriculum makes enrollment here a unique decision. Considering those factors, along with our strong alumni success stories as well as the numerous accolades and institutional recognition we have received, we believe our tuition is priced appropriately.

This is what we found:

Florida’s Five Largest Public Universities (out-of-state):

• Lowest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $59,960
• Highest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $111,744
• Median tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $79,932
• Average tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $81,373

Florida’s Five Largest Private Colleges/Universities:

• Lowest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $54,048
• Highest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $158,616
• Median tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $75,480
• Average tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $92,752

Full Sail University Bachelor’s Degrees:

• Lowest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $56,000
• Highest tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $80,500
• Median tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $79,250
• Average tuition & fees for a bachelor’s degree: $72,333

Tuition prices were taken from each institution’s website for the 2011-2012 academic year, and only include tuition and fees, not books, room and board, or living expenses. (When tuition information was not available on the institution’s website, we used the most recent data available via the IPEDS site.) When tuition was presented on a per-year basis, we multiplied that rate by four to determine the full cost of a bachelor’s degree program, since most students in traditional universities complete their bachelor’s programs in four to six years. When tuition was presented in a lump sum or range, we used the lowest lump sum number available. Additionally, another variable that could not be accounted for was annual tuition increases; some of the schools analyzed here raise tuition rates annually for all students, while Full Sail’s tuition rate remains fixed for each student from their start date.