US Universities Face Slowed Tuition Growth in Over 10 Years, Thanks to COVID Relief
Public university tuition has dropped 4%, with financial aid cutting out-of-pocket expenses by 40%.
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The cost of attending college is not rising for everyone. New data shows that what students pay for public universities has fallen sharply compared with a decade ago.
The COVID-19 pandemic greatly helped lower the cost of college. Institutions during this time mostly froze tuition and were sustained by increased state and federal funding for higher education.
However, AP News reported that when federal pandemic aid began to wane late in 2022, some colleges were placed under financial strain and started controlling their costs by reducing programs. Such an example can be seen at Purdue University in Indiana, where they have been able to freeze their tuition for more than a decade.
Now, the average tuition fee at in-state public universities has fallen 4% to $11,610. Taking into account financial aid and grants, the out-of-pocket expense actually declined 40% in comparison, and it brought down the annual price tag from $4,140 to $2,480.
That resulted in a considerable reduction in borrowing on the part of students. In fact, fewer students leave campus with loans and the loan balances are lower, having decreased by 17% on average.
Tuition Fee in Private Colleges
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for private colleges as tuition fees were reportedly going up in these institutions. The good thing is that it's doing so at a much-reduced rate.
Over the last decade, considering inflation-adjusted tuition, fees at private institutions have risen by only 4% to an average of $43,350. Impressively, this is a far cry from the 68% increase over the previous 20 years.
In the said decade, however, higher costs and growing skepticism have already led many Americans to question the worth of higher education. Regardless, research continually proves them wrong, indicating that a bachelor's degree provides sizeable economic gains since those who have them can earn 75% percent more over their lifetimes than those holding only a high school diploma.
Though the trends are positive, families paying out-of-state or private college fees reaching as high as $95,000 per year face challenges, according to NBC News 10. To stay ahead of the curve, many colleges are offering greater discounts and financial aid to bring in students wary of debt.
