Success stories. the federal government says 70% of high school graduates headed off to college last year, that is a record high, but it comes with a ti price tag and the cost keep rising. right now at public universities students bay $20,000 a year and nearly $40,000 a year for a private university. we wondered how much college will cost in 13 years, by 2023, private school will cost more than $73,000 a year. that is a huge financial burden. b 5-year-olds can thank the taxpayers for the investment.