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09 27th, 2010 Tuition Fee Increase and College Costs
The general perception about having a college education is that it is rather expensive. Most people can’t afford to have one and not everybody is qualified for a student loan or grant. Promising students get intimidated with the college tuition and costs involved like books, dorms, etc., that they actually dismiss the idea of pursuing a chance to a better future.
Tuition and college fees at most public colleges increase by 6.3 percent or an approximate $344 to an average of $5,836 for an academic year, according to the College Board’s “Trends in College Pricing” report. . With the global recession the family income has not increase that much to give way for funding a college education. Tuition fees for private colleges increased by as much as 5.9 percent, amounting to $22,218.
On the average college education at a major public research university costs $6,000 a year. Even though there are student loans and grants offered in some universities, they require a good credit standing which most students don’t qualify. The net cost of college in the last decade is shown in the table below.
| How the net cost of college has changed | ||||||||||||||||
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Figures are inflation-adjusted, 1999 dollars. They include tuition, fees, books, supplies and living expenses minus government and institutional grants received.
Source: National Center for Education Statistics.
What makes college education costs so much? In the effort to be the best among other competitors every college or university invests in all advancement in technology, upgrade in curriculum, facilities and employing highly qualified teachers. These resources are expensive to sustain and it contributes to yearly tuition fee increases. To keep high quality education in colleges and universities they have to employ the best faculty and be able to keep them. According to the American Association of University Professors a full time tenured professors make an average of $76,000.
Parents in return would like to enroll their children in these prominent schools and sees this as a good investment in their future. University administrators and board of trustees chooses to increase their quality by spending more rather than strengthening efficiency, cutting costs and reallocating funds.
Private colleges and universities should take further actions to stabilize their tuition fee increases and costs. Resource allocation method can contribute in an effective way to control costs. Parents and students aspiring for a college education should prepare early as the situation of increased tuition fees are expected to continue as the economy has not shown signs of improvement. Save up for college while children are still young and make the most of financial aids offered or you can try to avail of the prepaid tuition plans wherein payment for future tuition fees can be made at today’s rates.
read comments (0)09 7th, 2010 Student Loans and Grants in the US
A student loan helps in paying for tuition fee, books and other expenses in college. Its interest rate is lower compared to other types of loans and is payable after graduation. In the US student loans are offered by the federal government in the U.S. Department of Education’s Direct Loan Program.
By using the Direct Loan Program the student is borrowing directly from the government which has less interest than other loan agencies or banks. Apart from the low interest you only communicate with one agency—Direct Loan Servicing Center which can be accessed at their website: www.dl.ed.gov.
The qualifications required for applying for a student loan depends on a variety of factors such as parent’s income and your credit history. The first step is to fill out an application form or the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). To guide you on your student loan application here are the necessary steps to take.
- Check your Dependency Status
- Accomplish the FAFSA on the Web Worksheet
- Look for School Codes
- Students & Parents Apply For a PIN
- Check your Application Deadline Dates
After accomplishing the above steps you are ready to fill out the application and log in electronically to your account with your pin. Checking the status of your loan application can be viewed online and other changes such as adding school codes can be made into your account.
The US Department of Education Direct Loan Program is the largest loan giving body in the country. Their programs offer more than $100 billion consisting of grants, loans and student aids in different states. Their loan programs come in 3 different types.
- Subsidized – for students who are determined by federal regulations needing financial help. No interest is charged while in school, during the grace period and deferment methods.
- Unsubsidized – loan application is not based from a financial need. Interest is charged at all times.
- PLUS – unsubsidized loans for the parents of the students and for graduate or professional students. Interest is charged on all periods.
- Consolidation- all eligible student loans combined into one direct consolidation loan.
Before availing a student loan the expenses should be estimated to be able to provide a rough guide of what you will get when the loan application is granted. For subsidized and unsubsidized loans the interest rate is a fixed 6.80%.
