Today, I present to you news that every media outlet is talking about: college tuition rates are still rising…but not quite as much. This comes from the College Board’s annual report on college prices, spreading optimism to everyone that that you won’t have to pay that much more in comparison to last year’s increase.
College prices for in-state students going to a four-year college rose by 2.9% — the smallest increase in 38 years. This brings the average tuition and fees that students will have to pay will be $8,893 — an increase of $247 from last year. How do you feel about that coming out of your pocket?
Now of course, there are still scholarships and grants out there to help cover those costs, but another problem that still persists is that financial aid is unable to keep up. In fact, students will have to pay more, as compared to previous years where the “sticker price” for expenses stayed relatively the same. The net prices will be at about $3,120, on average, for most students. In other words, roughly a third of all expenses will fall on students and their families.
With the average family income falling and the awarding of financial aid decreasing, while the prices for college still continues to increase, there’s very little light that can be painted in this picture. Undoubtedly, there are benefits towards getting a full college education, despite the costs. But as it is right now, is it really worth going to college in the long run? The rate of increase has slowed, sure, but it’s still increasing, and we can expect it to continue to do so until something changes.
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