Before you take a looksy and get all choked up because your dream school costs $40,000 a year, remember that doesn’t mean you can’t apply for merit aid and scholarships to lower that price by whole lot.

Without any further delay, here are the top 10 most expensive private colleges:

1. Connecticut College
Tuition and fees 2010-2011: $43,990
Cool fact: Chartered in 1911, the founding of the college was a response to Wesleyan University’s decision to stop admitting women.

2. Columbia University
Tuition and fees 2010-2011: $43,304
Cool fact: Columbia is the oldest university of higher learning in the state of New York.

3. Vassar College
Tuition and fees: $43,190
Cool fact: Vassar has a student organization called The Barefoot Monkeys, which is aCircus Arts, Firespinning, and Juggling Club. You will not only be paying for a multidisciplinary education, but also some old school entertainment.

4. St. John’s College (MD)
Tuition and fees: $42,592
Cool fact: Founded originally in 1696 as a preparatory school, it received a collegiate charter in 1784, making it one of the oldest colleges in the United States.

5. Trinity College
Tuition and fees: $42,420
Cool fact: Trinity has a student to faculty ratio of 10:1.

6. Bucknell University
Tuition and fees: $42,342
Cool fact: The sixth president of the university, David Jayne Hill, had an epic mustache.

7. St. John’s College (NM)
Tuition and fees: $42,192
Cool fact: Both St. John’s College campuses are known for their Great Books Program where student-led discussion is the basis for most classes and teachers take a non-directive role.

8. Wesleyan University
Tuition and fees: $42,084
Cool fact: Wesleyan offers a BA/MA Program in the sciences leading to a Bachelor’s degree in the fourth year and a Master’s degree in the fifth year. Tuition for the fifth year of the Master’s degree is waived.

9. Bard College at Simon’s Rock
Tuition and fees: $41,990
Cool fact: Simon’s Rock is an “early college”, designed for students to enroll immediately after completing the tenth or eleventh grade, rather than after graduating from high school.

10. Carnegie Mellon University
Tuition and fees: $41,940
Cool fact: John Forbes Nash, the subject of A Beautiful Mind and winner of the 1994 Noble Prize in Economics, was a 1948 graduate.

How much does tuition price affect your college decision? Leave a comment!