College Prices Are Skyrocketing

The price of going to a public College rose again this year, up 6.6% over last year. This means that many College students will need more from their Student loans to go as far as  they used to.

The College Board (www.collegeboard.com) reports that the latest increase raises the cost of the average price per year at a traditional public 4 year College to $6185. The cost of a year at a private College rose to $23,712.

The darling of Colleges again are the 2 year community colleges and vocational schools. The price increases at these educational institutional schools have minimum price increases. The average price at these colleges only rose 4.2% in the same time period.

James Boyle, president of the group College Parents of America, said in the College Board study;

“For too long, parents have grimaced and borne the high price of college because they presumed that a higher education is key to their child’s success in today’s economy. Surely, the day will come — soon — when parents say enough is enough.”

Although private loans, to take up the slack where Federal Student Loans stop, have declined, many believe this is due to the “PLUS” loans from Uncle Sam.

College prices for undergraduate studies have also increased to a tune of 12%. This is the largest increase for public and private tuition.

Student who are in College now and students who will be in College soon may have help on the horizon. Congress will be considering a Bill that will require College’s with large endowments to use some of their savings to offset the cost of a College education.

Even the cost from for profit education institutes have risen. The College Board study does not try to determine why prices have risen.

With prices increasing rapidly and with no end in sight in the immediate future, it’s becoming increasingly important for High School and College students to plan early for their education and to be wise consumers and shop around for the best prices on a College education.