The federal government defines "average net price" as:
Average Net Price is a term defined by the federal government which is the average amount students paid to attend a college after deducting gift aid. According to CollegeNavigator, the college search website for the National Center for Education Statistics,
Average net price is generated by subtracting the average amount of federal, state/local government, or institutional grant or scholarship aid from the total cost of attendance. Total cost of attendance is the sum of published tuition and required fees, books and supplies, and the weighted average for room and board and other expenses.
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I agree that WFU and many private colleges are prohibitively expensive for many middle class and upper middle class families whose children don't qualify for a scholarship. If I were a parent in a situation like that and my child had the choice between paying state resident tuition at UNC-CH and paying full or even somewhat "discounted" tuition at WFU, I would pick UNC-CH.
There's no question that cost is a very important factor in picking a college these days. Wake is a rich school compared to most schools but it doesn't have the financial resources of schools like Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Stanford, etc that can discount tuition even for families who are relatively well off. If you look at the "average net price" figures, you can tell which private schools have the most money available for scholarships for the broadest group of recipients.