August is right around the corner and our kids will be headed back to school. Time for us to write those big tuition checks. Who charges the most? It’s not who you might think. Lots of small, liberal arts colleges make the list.

Without further prefacing here’s a list of the 10 priciest U.S. colleges (as measured by tuition plus required fees) according to the U.S. Dept of Education:

Bates College $51,300
Connecticut College $51,115
Middlebury College $50,780
Union College $50,439
Colby College $50,320
Sarah Lawrence College $41,968
Vassar College $41,930
George Washington University $41,655
Columbia University $41,316
Kenyon College $40,980