Yale University.
Yana Paskova/Stringer (Getty Images)
Fees to attend certain courses college It’s close now six figures per yearafter taking into account tuition, fees, room and board, books, transportation and other expenses.
Selected as one of the “Best 389 Colleges” by The Princeton Review On the list, eight universities — including New York University, Tufts University, Brown University, Yale University and Washington University in St. Louis — have Price According to data provided by CNBC, tuition for the 2024-25 school year will exceed $90,000.
Given that tuition adjusts by about 4% annually on average, these institutions – and others – are likely to leap $100,000 threshold According to a report, as soon as 2026 2023 expected Author: Brian Alexander, senior scholar at Georgetown University.
More from Personal Finance:
Nearly half of student loan borrowers want debt relief
Private and Public Colleges Offering the Best Financial Aid
More top universities across the country launch no-loan policies
Sameer Gadkaree, president of the Institute for College Access and Success, a nonprofit dedicated to improving college affordability, said the price shock “ It may discourage students from seeing university as a place they can attend, despite grants.”
“It’s just unaffordable,” he said, especially for low- and middle-income families.
Severe cuts in state funding for higher education have resulted in Tuition fees increased significantly And pushing more of the cost of college onto students, according to an analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a nonpartisan research group in Washington, D.C. “That’s definitely a concerning trend,” Gadkari said.
But he added that these schools still represent only “a small portion of the higher education market”. “The vast majority of colleges are open community colleges or state universities, and the prices are not that high.”
What families really pay for college
Even though college is getting more expensive, students and their parents are rarely Pay all fees Take it out of your pocket.
According to Sallie Mae’s annual report, the actual average cost of education for families in the 2023-24 school year is $28,409 How to Pay for College in the U.S. Report. This spring, Sallie Mae surveyed 1,000 parents of undergraduate students and 1,000 undergraduates ages 18 to 24.
Although parents’ income and savings paid for nearly half of college costs, from scholarship Grants account for more than a quarter of costs student loans Education lenders found that these people made up most of the rest.
The U.S. Department of Education allocates approximately $120 billion each year to help students pay for higher education. In addition to federal aid, students may be eligible for financial aid from state or university or private scholarships.
But students must first fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is gateway All federal funds, including loans, work-study, and grants.
This year, question with new federal financial services authority have discouraged Many students and their families are unable to complete their applications.
As of August 9, the number of applications submitted for the 2024 FAFSA nationwide was down nearly 10% from 2023, according to data from the National College Achievement Network (NCAN).
“We know that fewer students are applying for financial aid, which means fewer students are going to college,” said Robert Franek, editor-in-chief of The Princeton Review.
Cost is university’s biggest concern At home, “it’s hard for students and parents to look at the high price and think the school is going to help me,” Franek said.
However, when it comes to provide assistanceHe added that private schools generally have more money to spend.
Despite the high sticker costs, “there are many schools that are meeting real needs of students and families, and that’s the glorious story here,” Franek said.