Sticker shock: New college graduates, here is why your education cost so much money

When high school senior Jenny Bonilla got her college acceptance letter in March, she felt shock and heartbreak rather than joy, Yahoo! News reports. That’s because the letter from Goucher College, a private liberal arts school in Baltimore, also brought news that she would owe an unaffordable $20,000 a year in tuition and board, even with a scholarship the college was offering. Bonilla had been in the running for a full ride to Goucher but eventually lost out because her parents’ combined income of $57,000 a year was deemed too high. “That was heartbreaking,” she said…

Read the full story

…Read More

College net price calculators might not paint complete picture

There is a fear that students might be scared away if the questions are too complex or numerous.
When the annual college search season gets under way this fall, parents and students will have a new tool at their disposal.

By the end of October, the nation’s colleges and universities will be offering net price calculators on their websites, providing an easier way to compare college costs from one school to the next.

At least, that’s the goal of the federal law requiring the calculators.…Read More

25 ways to reduce the cost of college

The Center for College Affordability and Productivity has been periodically releasing bits and pieces of what will be a book-length compendium of 25 proposals to reduce the cost of college. Much of it is now available online, reports Daniel de Vise for College Inc. I guess the title speaks for itself, and the 234-page manuscript wastes no time with introductions or executive summaries, jumping right into idea #1, Encourage More Students to Attend Community College. For those who can’t spare the time to give the full document its due, here’s a much-condensed version. (I’m not necessarily agreeing with these ideas, mind you, merely endeavoring to explain them):

1. Encourage More Students to Attend Community College. Two-year colleges cost less than four-year schools.

2. Promote Dual Enrollment Programs. Students who earn college credit in high school save money in college.…Read More

Colleges spend more on recreation than class

According to a new study of college costs, American colleges are spending a smaller share of their budgets on instruction, and more on recreational facilities for students and on administration, reports the New York Times. The report, based on government data, documents a growing stratification of wealth across America’s system of higher education. At the top of the pyramid are private colleges and universities, which educate a small portion of the nation’s students, while public universities and community colleges serve greater numbers, have fewer resources, and are seeing tuitions rise most rapidly. The United States is reputed to have the world’s wealthiest postsecondary education system, with average spending of around $19,000 per student compared with $8,400 across other developed countries, says the report, “Trends in College Spending 1998-2008,” by the Delta Cost Project, a nonprofit group that advocates for controlling costs to keep college affordable. “Our analysis shows that these comparisons are misleading,” said Jane Wellman, the project’s executive director. “While the United States has some of the wealthiest institutions in the world, it also has a system of postsecondary education with far more economic stratification than is true of any other country.” Community colleges, which enroll about a third of students, spend close to $10,000 per student per year, while the private research institutions, which enroll far fewer students, spend an average $35,000 a year for each one…

Click here for the full story

…Read More