Rich families are paying up to a year's tuition at a time to do college tours by private jet By Hillary Hoffower

College tours have reached a new level — literally and figuratively. 

Luxury jet services are flying wealthy high school students and their families around the US on college tours, complete with a college admissions counselor on board, according to The New York Times. 

The services cost as much as $60,000, reports The Times — that's nearly three times the price of in-state public college tuition for a year, and not much more than the $46,950 average annual sticker price for private colleges in the US. 

Private jet chartering company XOJET is offering a bundled $30,000 round-trip package to big college cities like Atlanta, Boston, and New York, but it can cost up to six figures if families visit more than one hub. They partnered with luxury hotel chain Mandarin Orientalto provide a one-bedroom suite and college counselor consultation as well. 

For $57,000, rival Magellan Jets offers 10 hours of flight time and cabin customization, plus admissions experts at an extra cost, all while getting families to as many as three colleges in a single day. The company has had an iteration of this service on offer since at least 2015, as reported by Forbes, but prices have increased…