Perhaps some Upper St. Clair parents know this one firsthand:

Name Pennsylvania's most expensive college.

New data from the U.S. Department of Education reveals the answer.

Bucknell University in Lewisburg captures the state's top spot with a gold-plated tuition price tag of $42,342 per year, the seventh highest in the country.

Room and board and other fees will set you back another $10,000, at least, and expect to pay more in the future: The school set yearly tuitionfor the Class of 2016 at $44,900. 

Not far behind is Carnegie Mellon University with a tuition of $42,136; it's 10th in the U.S. on the list of high-priced private schools.

The most expensive four-year private school in the study is Connecticut College, asking $43,990 per year for tuition. The data breaks out public vs. private, 4-year vs. 2-year, and for-profit vs. nonprofit institutions and is designed to help families navigate the college selection process.

When you click on the U.S. Department of Education's College Affordability and Transparency Center website, you can customize your search.

Who has the highest tuition for a public institution (four-year or above)  in the U.S.?

No. 1 is Penn State-Main Campus at $15,250 and No. 2 is the University of Pittsburgh's main campus at $14,936.

As you look down that list, you'll see Penn State's other campuses listed there toward the top.

The national average for public schools, by the way, is $6,669, according to the center.

It begs the question: Is it worth it to spend so much on your degree? According to the Associated Press, half of all recent college grads are unemployed or underemployed.

Take our poll and let us know what you think in comments.

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