Why College is Cheaper Than It Looks

Why COLLEGE is CHEAPER Than it Looks ST. 'PAUL COLLEGE PRIVATE PUBLIC SCHOOL 2-YEAR SCHOOL SCHOOL DON'T LETA BIG STICKER PRICE SCARE YOU AWAY Today, only 1 in 3 students pays the full, published sticker price for tuition. NET TUITION PRIVATE SCHOOL: $10,090 Less than 2 of sticker price. PUBLIC SCHOOL: $2,490 ( Less than % of sticker price. 2-YEAR SCHOOL: +$800 The average student pays less at a public 4year institution than the average sticker price at a community college. COLLEGE Students have a net gain. While sticker price has been rising, net tuition has been dropping: NET PRICE VS. STICKER PRICE: TUITION AND FEES $30,000 $25,000 $20,000 $15,000 $10,000 $5,000 $0 -$5,000 2007-2008 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 (Estimate) ACADEMIC YEAR PRIVATE NON-PROFIT PUBLIC 4-YEAR PUBLIC 2-YEAR 4-YEAR (STICKER) (STICKER) (STICKER) PUBLIC 2-YEAR (NET) PRIVATE NON-PROFIT PUBLIC 4-YEAR 4-YEAR (NET) (NET) Why? Because financial aid is rising too. SINCE THE 2005-2006 THE AVERAGE FULL-TIME SCHOOL YEAR: STUDENT NOW RECEIVES: $7,500 in total aid. GRANT AID: +40% $6,500 TAX-BASED AID: +78% $1,000 GRANT AID TAX-BASED AID And remember: college is still one of the best investments you can make. RETURN ON ORIGINAL INVESTMENT Over a lifetime, a degree will give you a 15.2% rate of return on your original investment. That's better than any of these other investments: 15.2% 1/2 of college degree 1/5 of 1/6 of 1/6 of college degree college degree college degree 1/32 of college degree COLLEGE DEGREE GOLD GOVERNMENT BONDS STOCK CORPORATE HOUSING MARKET BONDS Not to mention, earnings will be higher, and unemployment lower: EDUCATION PAYS: Unemployment Rate in 2010 (%) Median Weekly Earnings in 2010 ($) BACHELOR'S 5.4% 1,038 DEGREE ASSOCIATE 7.0% 767 DEGREE SOME COLLEGE, NO DEGREE 9.2% 712 HIGH SCHOOL 10.3% 626 DIPLOMA LESS THAN 14.9% 444 H.S. DIPLOMA Conclusion: Raising sticker price allows schools to charge more to those who can afford it - while keeping prices low for those who can't. Don't let a steep sticker price scare you away from a college education. Investigate aid options. You might find that college is more affordable than you thought - and it's very likely to pay off in the long run. CREATED BY www.OnlineSchools.org REFERENCES http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/04/college-is-cheaper-than-you-think/ http://trends.collegeboard.org/college_pricing/ THIS WORK IS LICENSED UNDER A CREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE BY NO ND ALE SALE ALE