Students shouldn’t let the sticker price of college deter them from considering the pursuit of a degree, judging by federal data released last month.
The report from the National Center for Education Statistics shows a wide gap between the average price and the amount that full-time students actually paid for school in the 2010-11 academic year.
While the average sticker price at four-year public institutions was $17,600, for example, students paid an average of $11,000 once grant aid was subtracted. At four-year private, nonprofit schools, the average net price was $19,800—reduced from a listed price of $34,000.
The calculation of net price of attendance does not include loan aid.
