Final Editorial

As many high school seniors prepare to go off to college in the fall, many factors come into view as they make the decision of which college to attend. Some of these factors may include proximity to home, what the college has to offer, available majors, the campus, and many others. One factor that has become an issue among that final decision, however, is the cost. Jumps in college tuition prices have set a hurdle in the way of many hopeful students and means that for many, they may have to alternate their plans.

College tuition has increased significantly over the past years and continues to do so each year. Between 2000 and 2005, the average cost of tuition for students attending four-year public universities jumped 40 percent, according to the Board, a New York City-based nonprofit made up of 4,300 colleges and universities. This is a substantial amount and many people cannot pay it. In comparison, according to the report, Trends in College Pricing 2005, college tuition for two-year community colleges and four-year private colleges has increased less than 19 percent in the past five years and less than 6 percent between 2004 and 2005. It linked the largest average increases to reductions in state funding for higher education. Student aid has also been on the rise, but not by enough to keep students from relying more heavily on borrowing, according to a companion report, Trends in Student Aid 2005. This knowledge is coupled with the reality that grant aid from the government, colleges and private sources isn’t covering the price hikes. Although there is a lot of aid out there that is helping many students, there is also real caution about the failure of grant aid to keep up with the rising prices in college tuition.

One of the many downfalls in this increase in tuition is that in many cases it is taking students longer to earn their degrees, as they must make time to make money while still attending school. There is also concern in continuing inflation and the danger that low-income students will be priced out of education. There is good news in that however, as students do have the option to live at home and attend a community college where they will still be able to get an education at a reasonable cost. There are always going to be students paying more as thousands are not receiving any financial aid to attend school at all. So, as each academic year comes around, parents and students wait for the shock of what the new tuition price will be for the next year. However, that is not the only part of the shock that is awaiting parents. The College Board also warns that it now takes the average public university student six years to complete a degree. Private school students are generally taking an average of five years. This means that parents should budget at least $79,000 to get today's freshmen attending in-state public universities through graduation. Now that is something to be shocked about.