I was about to say, college tuition is pretty clear cut. At least in the early 2000s, what they mention on the website and the estimated books/equipment costs pretty much lined up with what I saw on each bill. Some people paid less because of grants (although some people did have their grants disappear when FAFSA decided to change the income brackets), and I guess some people didn't look at the cost, but instead at their student loan returns.

But I was an engineer. I'm sure there are other fields that might have crazy hidden lab costs.