How should I compare the overall cost of Johns Hopkins and Case Western Reserve?

Neither school is automatically cheaper; the meaningful comparison is the four-year net cost shown by each school’s aid offer, not the published tuition price. Use each college’s official net price calculator first, then replace those estimates with your actual award letters.

For each school, add tuition and mandatory fees, housing and food, books and supplies, health insurance if you need the school plan, personal expenses, and round-trip travel from home. Check whether the housing and food figure assumes a particular residence hall or meal plan, since moving off campus later can change the total. Baltimore and Cleveland also differ in travel distance and day-to-day spending depending on where you live.

Then subtract only grants and scholarships that do not need to be repaid. Separate federal work-study from gift aid: work-study is an opportunity to earn wages, not an upfront discount on your bill. Also identify any loans in the package, and whether a parent loan is being assumed.

Project the result across four years. A smaller first-year bill is not necessarily the lower-cost option if housing costs rise, or borrowing increases later.