Boston – The Cost of College: Is It Really Spiraling Higher?
For many years, the cost of attending college has been a major concern for students and their families. The rising tuition fees at both public and private universities have left many questioning whether a college degree is worth the price. However, recent research shows that the cost of college may not be as high as we once thought.
According to data compiled by the College Board, the average student attending an in-state public university this year faces a tuition bill of $11,610. While this may seem like a significant amount, it is actually 4% lower than it was a decade ago when taking inflation into account. But the real savings come in the form of grants and financial aid. The average student now pays 40% less, with the annual cost of attendance dropping from $4,140 to $2,480 over the past decade.
This reduction in cost has also led to a decrease in borrowing. Only about half of students attending in-state public universities are now graduating with some debt, down from 59% a decade ago. And for those who do borrow, the average loan balance has decreased by 17%, from $32,700 to $27,100. This is great news for students who are worried about the burden of student loans.
On the other hand, tuition fees at private colleges continue to rise, but at a much slower rate. Over the past decade, the average tuition has increased by 4% when taking inflation into account, reaching an average of $43,350. This is a significant change from the previous two decades, where tuition fees had increased by a whopping 68%.
So why are costs coming down? One factor is the increasing skepticism among Americans about the value of a college degree. With surveys showing that more and more people are questioning the worth of a degree, the number of high school graduates heading to college has dropped to levels not seen in decades, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
However, research still shows that a college degree pays off in the long run. According to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, Americans with a bachelor’s degree earn a median of $2.8 million during their careers, which is 75% more than those with only a high school diploma.
The COVID-19 pandemic has also played a significant role in the reduction of college costs. With many institutions freezing tuition fees and increased funding from the government, both public and private universities have been able to lower the cost of attendance. However, some of this funding has since expired, including the federal pandemic aid, which was mostly used up by the end of 2022.
One student who has benefited from these reduced costs is Kai Mattinson. The 22-year-old senior from Nevada attends Northern Arizona University and would have had to pay $39,000 annually without any discounts or scholarships. However, with the financial aid she receives, her cost of attendance is now between $15,000 and $20,000. This significant reduction in cost made Northern Arizona University the best option for her, even though she initially wanted to attend the University of Arizona.
Many institutions have also taken steps to limit cost increases. For example, Purdue University in Indiana has frozen in-state tuition at $9,992 for the past 13 years. This has helped make college more affordable for students and their families.
The President of the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities, Mark Becker, expressed his satisfaction with the recent data. He stated, “Institutional efforts to control costs, combined with many states’ efforts to increase investments in public universities and federal investment in the Pell Grant, have increased college affordability and enabled significant progress on tackling student debt.”
The cost of attending public two-year community colleges has also decreased by 9% over the past decade, according to the College Board data. This is in line with the figures collected by the National Center for Education Statistics.
While the cost of college may still seem daunting to some, it is important to remember that many institutions offer significant discounts to the sticker price for middle- and lower-income students. Some private colleges have even expanded their financial aid, such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which announced in November that undergraduates from families with an income below $200,000 would no longer have to pay any tuition starting in the fall.
In an increasingly difficult environment, where colleges face a dwindling pool of young
