2007-08 College Costs: Keep Rising Prices in Perspective

Welcome!Sign InMy School List (0)

Article Tools

Print This Article

Email This Article

Sign-up For Newsletters

See full library of articles

2007-08 College Costs: Keep Rising Prices in Perspective

Students and their families will pay, on average, $95 to $1,404 more for tuition and fees in 2007-08 than they did last year. But there's good news, too.

By The College Board

Here's the bad news: there's no escaping the fact that college costs are

More from the College Board

rising. According to recently released reports from the College Board, most students and their families can expect to pay, on average, from $95 to $1,404 more than last year for this year's tuition and fees, depending on the type of college.

Believe it or not though, there is good news. There is more than $130 billion in financial aid available. And, despite all of these college cost increases, a college education remains an affordable choice for most families.

Sticker Price vs. Affordability
Although some of the college price tags you hear about can be quite daunting — $30,000 or more for yearly tuition and fees — most colleges are more affordable than you might think. For example, did you know that about 56% of students at four-year schools pay less than $9,000 for tuition and fees? After grants are taken into consideration, the net price the average undergraduate pays for a college education is significantly lower than the published tuition and fees. And remember, financial aid will further reduce the amount your family will actually pay.

Average college costs 2007-08:
- Four-year private $23,712(up 6.3% from last year)
- Four-year public $6,185(up 6.6% from last year)
But did you know that...:
- About 56% of students enrolled at four-year colleges or universities attend institutions that charge tuition and fees of less than $9,000 per year.
- 43% of full-time students enrolled in public four-year colleges and universities attend institutions that charge published in-state tuition and fees between $3,000 and $6,000.
- While private four-year institutions have a much wider range of tuition and fee charges, only about 6% of all students attend colleges with tuition and fees totaling $33,000 or higher per year.
Average college costs 2007-08:
- Two-year public $2,361 (up 4.2% from last year)
But did you know that...:
- 22 percent of all students attend two-year colleges.
- For full-time dependent students at public two-year colleges, net tuition and fees are no more than 2% of the family income
Average college costs 2007-08:
- Students will pay, on average, from $371 to $406 more than last year for this year's room and board, depending on the type of college.
- The average surcharge for full-time out-of-state students at public four-year institutions is $10,455.
But did you know that...:
- More than $130 billion in financial aid is available to students and their families.
- About two-thirds of all full-time college students receive grant aid. In 2007-08, estimated aid in the form of grants and tax benefits averaged about $2,040 per student at public two-year colleges, about $3,600 at public four-year colleges, and about $9,300 per student at private four-year colleges.

Consider College an Investment
Did you know that, according to a 2007 College Board study, Education Pays, people with a bachelor's degree earn over 60% more than those with only a high school diploma? Over a lifetime, the gap in earning potential between a high school diploma and a B.A. (or higher) is more than $80,000. In other words, whatever sacrifices you and your child make for his or her college education in the short term are more than repaid in the long term.

Note: Cost and aid figures are from the College Board's Trends in College Pricing 2007, Trends in Student Aid 2007, and Education Pays 2007. (These links are PDF files. To read them, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download for free.)

Comments From GreatSchools.net Users

03/10/2008:

"WE ARE CAUGHT IN THE MIDDLE MY DAUGHTERS ATTEND COLLEGES THAT TOGETHER COST $66,000 PER YEAR WE UNABLE TO COLLECT ANY FINANCIAL AID WHAT SO EVER, THEIR GRADES WERE ONLY AVERRAGE SO STATE SCHOOLS DID NOT ACCEPT THEM SO WE ARE DOING THE PRIVATE SCHOOL THING WHICH THEY ARE BOTH THRIVING, BUT WE ARE GOING TO HAVE TO DIVORCE SIMPLY BECAUSE WE CANNOT AFFORD THESE COSTS EVEN THOUGH WE MAKE GOOD MONEY WE ARE IN A VERY HIGH TAX BRACKET BY DIVORCING WE WILL BE ABLE TO GET SOME TYPE OF AID.IT WILL BE WORTH IT WE ALSO HAVE TWO MIDDLE SCHOOL AGE BOYS"

12/3/2007:

"Okay now, selling your house!? -That's a bit ridiculous unless you've completely failed to plan. This isn't a surprise that your child is going to want to go to college; you've known since the MOMENT your child was born that this was in his/her future. Soooo, since you've failed to demonstrate responsibility, you MUST teach your child. First, let them learn from your actions. Explain the real-life financial situation that you are in. At least teach them what NOT to do what you've done. Let them feel the stress... it's a great reality check and motivator! Second, since you're in your current financial situation there are some simple solutions. If your child is not academically inclined (your first failure) you need to make sure you round out the edges by getting your child involved in the community. There are a vast amount of scholarships for those who have done service activities. Yes, this means that you GIVE BACK to others (not expect something for nothing). Those who are involved in Boy Scouts and reach the honorable rank of Eagle Scout have countless oppportunities to obtain scholarships, same for Girl Scouts. Oh- and don't forget the honorable ROTC scholarships! What a great way to give back to your country, earn a degree, and obtain a guaranteed job post-college with excellent skills and experiences... and benefits as well! Finally, it's a tough lesson (failing to plan)... but nothing in life is free, thus you shouldn't teach your child to expect what is not due to them. Live and Learn As a 26-year-old who attended a Catholic University that was $33,000 a year (and had no financial support from my own parents) I know the stress of student loans. However, with a strong work ethic I have paid them off in-full in 2.5 years by earning small scholarships here and there, working while in the library while in school, and being a Resident Advisor my senior year to earn free room & board) and am currently obtaining my Masters of Science degree while working full-time. Nothing is impossible. Pray that God will help you teach your child how to be financially responsible in their own future. [On a side note - don't act like you don't know that they are going to get married someday... PLAN NOW!! It'll make it a much more pleasant experience and a wonderful sacrament for your whole family to enjoy!]"

11/26/2007:

"My son has a 3.2 average (unweighted). He still hasn't qualified for any great packages. Our family income is a too high for most grants & financial aid packages. Our gross income is a little over 100,000 (2 full-time working parents with a high mortgage). The story we are hearing is the grants and aid are need based or your child has to be ditinguished in some way. A 3.2 taking some honors classes wasn't good enough since our income is to high."

11/26/2007:

"To the family 'caught in the middle'-- Like you I thought that there was no scholarship money available to the middle/upper middle income group. There are books at the library that identify possible 'free money.' I have just started the process and while it may be time consuming, I am now convinced that regardless of income or your child's grades, there is some free money out there. "

11/26/2007:

"I totally agree with the commentator talking about 'caught in the middle.' I have friends who graduated $40K in debt. What a way to start your 'higher earning' career, especially if you major in the liberal arts."

11/26/2007:

"Thanks for those very good information."

11/26/2007:

"I don't know where they are getting their figures from but anyone I talk to It is almost half or at least one-fourth of their family GROSS income. Almost everyone I talked to had to take out equity on their homes because like the other person said we make too much to get any grants and do not qualify for the scholarships. Any loans your child wants to take out cost you a percentage up front and then you pay quite a bit in interest. It could easily cost you over one-hundred thousand dollars for four years of college, especially if your child goes out of state."

11/26/2007:

"As a single parent when my daughter graduated, I could not afford to send her to a University. He father refused to help as he had promised. She was devestated. We did not give up... On the last day of registration using all the money I could pull together, she enrolled in our state community college. she took only courses that would tranfer to a University for 2 years while working part time. She then transfered to ODU and graduated 12th in her class as an English Teacher. It can be done (inch by inch)."

11/28/2006:

"This is small consolation for those of us 'caught in the middle': making too much money to qualify for grant aid and too little to be able to pay for the costs of college out-of-pocket. As a result, we and our children will need to take on significant amounts of (non-subsidized) debt. In our case, we will be selling our house to help pay for our sons' college costs."