How should I compare the total cost of attending Carnegie Mellon versus the University of Pittsburgh?

Compare the actual four-year net cost in each financial-aid offer, not the published tuition or the school’s estimated cost of attendance. For a Pennsylvania resident, Pitt’s in-state tuition is typically a major built-in cost advantage, while Carnegie Mellon’s private-school price can be reduced substantially only if its grant aid makes up much of that difference. Use each college’s aid letter to calculate what your family must pay or borrow for the first year, then project that figure forward.

Start with the same categories for both schools: tuition, mandatory fees, housing, food, books and supplies, transportation, personal expenses, health-insurance charges if applicable, and any program-specific costs. Use the housing and meal-plan choices you would actually select, rather than automatically accepting the highest campus estimate.

For each offer, subtract only gift aid: grants and scholarships that do not need to be repaid. Keep federal work-study separate because it is an opportunity to earn wages, not money automatically applied to your bill. Also separate federal student loans, parent loans, and private loans from grants; a lower immediate bill is not necessarily a lower cost if it depends on borrowing.

Carnegie Mellon may fit the student whose aid package makes its net price close enough to Pitt’s that the academic program, campus environment, and career opportunities justify the remaining gap. Pitt may fit the student prioritizing a predictable, lower-debt path, particularly when resident tuition and scholarships leave a clear annual savings.

Compare the schools using a four-year worksheet that includes likely annual price increases and the total debt you would personally need to take on. A useful final number is: four-year family cash contribution plus total student borrowing, with parent borrowing listed separately rather than treated as free aid.