Getting an Education - Higher Education—off To College

Formal schooling beyond high school increasingly is being viewed as a necessity, not only to a young person's development but also to his or her economic success. President Bill Clinton, in his 1997 State of the Union address, spoke of the goal of making two years of college education "standard" for all American young people, much like high school had been considered in the past, and a four-year degree possible for anyone who desired it. Many parents consider helping their children attend college to be an important financial responsibility.

Enrollment

Enrollment in institutions of higher education is expected to rise through 2013, due not only to large numbers of children of baby boomers approaching college age but also to the increasing numbers of people of all ages seeking advanced learning. Enrollment in degree-granting postsecondary institutions stood at 15.3 million in 2000 and is expected to reach 18.2 million by 2013. (See Figure 6.8.)

College Costs

Paying for a college education, even at public four-year institutions, now ranks as one of the most costly investments for American families. In 2001–02 the average annual in-state cost at a four-year public college, including tuition and room and board, was $9,199. For one year at a private four-year college in 2002 the average cost for tuition and room and board was $22,968. (See Table 6.9.)

Nationwide the average tuition in 2001–02 (not including room and board) for full-time, resident under-graduate students at public four-year colleges was $3,746. (See Table 6.9.) Tuition at four-year public colleges varied widely among states—from $2,388 in Utah to $7,470 in Vermont. Most states with the highest tuition were in the

FIGURE 6.8

Northeast and most with the lowest tuition were in the South and West.

Private schools also raised tuition and room and board fees in an effort to meet their financial obligations. Average tuition in a private four-year college in 2001–02 was $16,287, up from $15,470 in 2000–01. (See Table 6.9.) The average tuition in such institutions varied greatly by state, from a low in Utah of $4,014 to a high in Massachusetts of $21,526.

Financial Assistance for Students

During the 1999–2000 academic year, the last year for which national data were available, more than half (55%) of about 16.5 million undergraduates enrolled in postsecondary institutions received some type of financial aid from federal, state, institutional, or other sources to meet their educational expenses. About 39% of under-graduates received some form of federal aid, and 14% of undergraduates received state aid. More than one in ten students (13.6%) received grants (which do not have to be paid back), 5% took out loans (which do have to be paid back), 2.7% received state merit grants, and 3% were on work-study programs (Digest of Education Statistics, chap. 3-A, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, 2003). Federal assistance that goes directly to students includes Pell Grants (the annual maximum was increased to $4,050 for the 2004–05 award year), the Stafford Student Loan Program (a maximum loan of $17,125 for four years of study for dependent undergraduate students), and Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants (which can range from $100 to $5,000 per year).

During 1999–2000, 75% of dependent undergraduates whose family income was below $30,000 received financial aid (Lutz Berkner et al., Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 1999–2000, National Center for Education Statistics, Washington, DC, July 2002). About 37% of undergraduates in this income category received aid with no loans, and 38% received aid that

TABLE 6.9

Average undergraduate tuition, fees, and room and board rates paid by full-time equivalent students in degree-granting institutions, by control of institution and by state, 2000–01 and 2001–02
	Public 4-year, 2000-01		Public 4-year, 2001-021				Private 4-year, 2000-01		Private 4-year, 2001-021				Public 2-year, tuition only (in-state)
State or other area	Total	Tuition and required fees (in-state)	Total	Tuition and required fees (in-state)	Room	Board	Total	Tuition and required fees	Total	Tuition and required fees	Room	Board	2000–01	2001–021
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
†Not applicable.
1Preliminary data based on fall 2000 enrollments.
Note: Data are for the entire academic year and are average charges. Tuition and fees were weighted by the number of full-time-equivalent undergraduates in 2000, but are not adjusted to reflect student residency. Room and board are based on full-time students. Data revised from previously published figures. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.
SOURCE: "Table 313. Average Undergraduate Tuition and Fees and Room and Board Rates Paid by Full-Time-Equivalent Students in Degree-Granting Institutions, by Control of Institution and by State: 2000–01 and 2001–02," in Digest of Education Statistics, 2002, National Center for Education Statistics, 2003, http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d02/tables/PDF/table313.pdf (accessed September 14, 2004)
United States	$8,653	$3,501	$9,199	$3,746	$2,811	$2,642	$21,856	$15,470	$22,968	$16,287	$3,571	$3,111	$1,333	$1,379
Alabama	7,349	2,987	7,654	3,245	2,321	2,088	14,136	9,334	15,269	10,229	2,415	2,626	1,672	1,990
Alaska	8,390	2,941	9,258	3,065	3,035	3,157	14,656	9,381	15,675	9,852	2,440	3,382	1,674	1,717
Arizona	7,874	2,346	8,222	2,488	2,719	3,015	15,109	9,322	14,510	9,759	2,616	2,135	924	962
Arkansas	6,797	3,011	7,302	3,387	2,036	1,879	13,377	9,109	14,414	9,952	1,988	2,474	1,158	1,314
California	9,590	2,566	10,320	2,730	3,830	3,760	24,679	17,219	26,203	18,399	4,269	3,535	315	315
Colorado	8,362	2,980	8,808	3,159	2,663	2,987	23,129	15,445	24,351	16,245	3,725	4,380	1,655	1,685
Connecticut	10,521	4,553	11,058	4,772	3,406	2,880	27,737	20,056	29,065	21,075	4,780	3,209	1,868	1,889
Delaware	10,283	4,789	10,889	5,065	3,082	2,742	13,936	8,415	14,698	8,755	3,146	2,798	1,680	1,800
District of Columbia	†	2,070	†	2,070	†	†	26,933	19,186	28,310	20,093	5,090	3,126	†	†
Florida	7,947	2,366	8,361	2,555	3,138	2,667	19,870	13,805	20,978	14,708	3,316	2,954	1,438	1,494
Georgia	7,463	2,699	7,915	2,838	2,730	2,346	19,951	13,770	21,124	14,555	3,763	2,806	1,260	1,293
Hawaii	8,272	2,968	7,987	3,051	2,376	2,560	16,078	8,000	16,627	8,777	3,477	4,373	1,066	1,067
Idaho	6,765	2,628	7,163	2,860	1,993	2,310	17,793	13,664	10,163	5,326	1,862	2,976	1,316	1,410
Illinois	9,532	4,178	10,194	4,567	2,653	2,974	21,784	15,317	22,844	16,194	3,726	2,924	1,532	1,569
Indiana	9,239	3,786	9,783	4,002	2,821	2,960	21,378	16,078	22,545	16,973	2,823	2,749	2,108	2,121
Iowa	7,587	3,157	8,253	3,470	2,512	2,271	19,414	14,630	20,341	15,383	2,289	2,670	2,141	2,362
Kansas	6,654	2,642	6,987	2,700	2,056	2,231	15,670	11,206	16,653	11,987	2,058	2,608	1,378	1,441
Kentucky	6,923	2,898	7,370	3,194	2,131	2,045	14,644	10,176	15,710	10,972	2,261	2,477	1,342	1,561
Louisiana	6,329	2,783	6,689	2,865	1,895	1,929	21,937	15,591	23,050	16,539	3,469	3,042	935	1,009
Maine	9,371	4,267	10,259	4,804	2,716	2,739	22,690	16,450	24,132	17,619	3,214	3,299	2,594	2,642
Maryland	10,834	4,772	11,385	4,973	3,553	2,859	25,670	18,621	27,108	19,652	4,185	3,271	2,301	2,244
Massachusetts	9,207	4,003	9,370	3,999	2,926	2,445	28,666	20,566	29,970	21,526	4,696	3,749	1,894	1,946
Michigan	9,825	4,615	10,565	5,054	2,679	2,832	16,011	11,155	17,046	11,802	2,527	2,717	1,743	1,780
Minnesota	8,127	4,009	9,080	4,494	2,463	2,122	21,332	16,243	22,420	16,986	2,716	2,717	2,507	2,746
Mississippi	7,195	2,969	7,599	3,410	2,252	1,937	13,767	9,659	14,203	10,004	2,047	2,151	1,138	1,362
Missouri	8,203	3,879	8,672	4,111	2,587	1,975	17,886	12,600	18,787	13,218	2,860	2,710	1,472	1,498
Montana	7,615	3,079	8,309	3,467	2,177	2,665	14,454	9,631	15,929	9,926	3,104	2,899	2,004	2,159
Nebraska	7,355	3,101	7,731	3,228	2,105	2,398	16,093	11,619	18,837	14,074	2,386	2,377	1,421	1,498
Nevada	8,247	2,344	8,570	2,437	3,523	2,610	17,835	11,465	19,719	13,510	3,230	2,979	1,369	1,410
New Hampshire	11,720	6,458	12,348	6,728	3,457	2,163	25,184	18,261	26,482	19,186	4,121	3,175	3,933	4,324
New Jersey	12,007	5,609	12,854	6,078	4,034	2,741	23,738	16,680	25,203	17,403	4,113	3,687	2,295	2,236
New Mexico	7,086	2,627	7,587	2,838	2,252	2,497	19,011	14,062	20,508	14,499	3,121	2,888	876	921
New York	10,260	4,063	10,777	4,140	3,637	2,999	25,178	17,433	26,509	18,357	4,697	3,455	2,562	2,584
North Carolina	7,076	2,298	7,667	2,646	2,650	2,371	20,185	14,274	21,024	15,110	2,852	3,062	896	1,014
North Dakota	6,418	2,942	6,843	3,130	1,405	2,308	11,399	8,026	11,840	8,362	1,520	1,959	1,902	2,090
Ohio	10,451	4,742	11,179	5,142	3,188	2,849	20,983	15,419	22,134	16,259	2,945	2,929	2,292	2,373
Oklahoma	6,022	2,259	6,296	2,373	1,744	2,178	15,307	10,587	16,492	11,405	2,343	2,744	1,253	1,214
Oregon	9,394	3,646	10,063	3,862	3,191	3,010	23,123	17,533	24,428	18,308	3,090	3,030	1,637	1,722
Pennsylvania	11,091	5,917	11,861	6,316	2,955	2,590	24,737	17,821	26,002	18,796	3,833	3,373	2,287	2,369
Rhode Island	11,095	4,506	11,610	4,708	3,677	3,225	26,073	18,320	27,192	19,177	4,068	3,946	1,806	1,854
South Carolina	9,096	4,701	10,077	5,502	2,485	2,089	17,518	12,713	18,435	13,429	2,511	2,495	1,467	1,787
South Dakota	6,975	3,484	7,469	3,692	1,504	2,273	15,335	11,194	15,935	11,796	1,907	2,232	2,857	2,964
Tennessee	7,658	2,950	7,781	3,340	2,111	2,330	18,128	12,922	19,143	13,682	2,918	2,543	1,441	1,652
Texas	7,614	2,785	8,062	2,975	2,659	2,428	16,890	11,865	18,185	12,728	2,724	2,733	929	981
Utah	6,598	2,226	7,393	2,388	2,002	3,004	8,600	3,754	8,992	4,014	2,445	2,533	1,571	1,679
Vermont	12,847	7,142	13,450	7,470	3,700	2,280	22,454	15,740	23,205	16,407	3,659	3,140	3,004	3,148
Virginia	8,751	3,723	8,988	3,775	2,796	2,417	18,499	13,118	19,541	13,892	2,786	2,863	1,132	1,131
Washington	8,909	3,600	9,986	3,788	2,862	3,337	21,505	15,874	22,612	16,638	3,038	2,936	1,758	1,885
West Virginia	7,290	2,551	7,625	2,645	2,421	2,559	18,285	12,999	18,329	13,136	2,406	2,787	1,661	1,661
Wisconsin	7,396	3,417	7,786	3,691	2,265	1,829	20,317	15,032	21,330	15,907	2,836	2,587	2,262	2,310
Wyoming	7,017	2,575	7,421	2,807	2,012	2,602	†	†	†	†	†	†	1,440	1,490

included loans. About 57% of dependent undergraduates whose family income was in the $30,000–$80,000 range received financial aid—about 20% received aid with no loans and 37% received aid that included loans. About 48% of dependent undergraduates whose family income was more than $80,000 received financial aid; 20% received aid with no loans, and 28% received aid that included loans.