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College Costs


  1. Average Costs of College Are Rising
    The following table compares the average costs (tuition and fees only) for three categories of colleges:

    TYPE OF COLLEGE

    AVERAGE COST

    for 1 year (2007—2008)1

    PERCENTAGE INCREASE

    from last year (2006—2007)1

    AVERAGE COST

    for multiple years
    Public two-year
    $ 2,361
    up 4.2 %
    2 years: $ 4,8162
    Public four-year
    $ 6,185
    up 6.6 %
    4 years: $ 27,2583
    Private four-year
    $ 23,712
    up 6.3 %
    4 years: $ 104,0384

    1Source: www.collegeboard.org (April 2008). 2Assumes 4.0% annual increase. 3Assumes 6.5% annual increase. 4Assumes 6.2% annual increase.

  2. Researching the Cost of College
    The following Web sites and books provide information about college costs, financial aid, and more (the next section, Funding Resources, provides additional information about a variety of resources for funding a college education):

    1. Individual college Web sites and catalogs have up-to-date information on costs for tuition, fees, room and board, books, other expenses, and some sources of financial aid.

    2. The College Board Web site, : http://collegesearch.collegeboard.com/search/sidebyside.jsp, allows you to create side-by-side comparison charts of various schools’ tuition costs. In addition, you can compare schools’ town size, acceptance percentage, freshman GPA and SAT averages, and other information.

    3. The College Board College Handbook 2008, published by The College Board, contains comprehensive information on more than accredited 3,800 colleges, universities, and technical schools, including entrance requirements, class sizes, costs, financial aid, housing, and majors

    4. The Best 366 Colleges 2008, published by The Princeton Review, presents the results of an annual survey of 120,000 students, who rate their schools’ faculties, workloads, social scenes, sports, and more. It also includes information about the schools’ financial aid, admissions requirements, and school rankings in 63 categories. The Complete Book of Colleges 2008, also published by The Princeton Review, contains up-to-date information on more than 1,600 colleges and universities, including school Web sites, addresses, admissions, deadlines, and financial aid.

    5. Fiske Guide to Colleges 2008 is a leading guide to more than 300 colleges and universities in the U.S., Canada, and Great Britain.