College tuition has increased modestly at both private and public institutions since last year, according to a College Board report released last week.
At the same time, a record amount of student financial aid is available, but most of it is in the form of loans rather than grants or scholarships, the New York City-based organization said.
At four-year public institutions, students are paying, on average, 4.4 percent more this academic year than last, the report says. Tuition at four-year private schools increased an average of 5 percent, while tuition at two-year private and public institutions increased 7 percent and 3 percent, respectively.
Tuition rates rose faster, however, than last year’s 2.6 percent inflation rate.
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| “Trends in College Pricing” and “Trends in Student Aid” are both available from the College Board.(Require Adobe’s Acrobat Reader.) |
That means undergraduates will pay, on average, from $56 to $814 more this year for tuition and fees, depending on the type of institution, according to the report, titled “Trends in College Pricing 2000.”
The College Board, best known for sponsoring the SAT college-entrance exam, concluded that a college education is accessible to most high school students today.
Tuition and fees for students at four-year, private universities averaged $16,332 this year, the report found, compared with $3,510 at four-year, public universities.
The investment pays off, it added, noting that college graduates today earn an annual income that is 80 percent higher than salaries paid to high school graduates. In the 1970s, college graduates earned just one-third more.
Meanwhile, a record $68 billion in aid is available to students from federal, state, and institutional sources, the organization said in a companion report, “Trends in Student Aid 2000.”
While student-aid dollars grew 4 percent to reach a record $68 billion in 1999-2000, student loans now represent 59 percent of all aid, compared with 41 percent in 1980-1981, the report says. Federal Pell Grants now cover only 39 percent of students’ total costs at public, four-year colleges and 15 percent at four-year, private colleges.
Trent Anderson, the vice president and director of publications for Kaplan Inc. in New York City, which provides test-preparation and career services, noted that families have serious worries about paying for college.
