Is tuition at Penn State too expensive? Pennsylvania State University is one of the largest state universities in the nation, with more than 40,000 students currently enrolled in that university system. It is also a very old school, with its 150th birthday coming up in 2005. Over the last century and a half, Penn State has produced the largest number of alumni in the world. In my major, just meteorology, famous alumni like Jon M. Nese, Greg Forbes, and Joe Bastardi are contributing their invaluable knowledge to the world in the science of meteorology. They are often seen on national broadcasts. These are some of the main factors that attract future students to attend Penn State. Do you ever think about the cost of attending Penn State since Penn State is one of the most expensive public institutions in the United States? Consider how expensive Penn State is for students. Is it worth up to $20,000 per year for in-state residents and up to $30,000 per year for students living outside of Pennsylvania? More and more students are changing their final decisions due to the high costs of attending specific colleges or universities. With respect to these issues, I will perform a detailed evaluation so that students can be informed about the cost of tuition at Penn State. First of all, comparing the prices of going to Penn State and other similar colleges will provide a basic idea of ​​how expensive Penn State is relative to others. For public Midwestern universities that have nearly the same enrollment size as Penn State, Penn State's tuition is far more expensive than that of Midwestern colleges. Consider Michigan State University, with an enrollment of nearly 35,000. In-state tuition for Michigan State University is approximately $6,700, while out-of-state tuition is close to $16,700 (Michigan 2004). On the other hand, Penn State-University Park has a student population of nearly 34,000 students. In-state and out-of-state tuition at Penn State is at least $2,000 more than the tuition to attend Michigan State (PSU Registrar 2004). Penn State's annual tuition is 30% more expensive than some public universities in the Midwest. It could be argued that the difference in tuition is due to the location of the universities. This is not true at all and I will provide evidence that will demonstrate that there is a weak or no correlation between the location of the public university and the enrollment rate.