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College tuition on the rise due to recession


Annual tuition and fees are raised over five percent, or to an average of around $7,000

Kate Oczypok


The recession means bad news for kids who are already struggling to pay college tuition. But there’s news that those students may have an even worse time paying that tuition. According to the Los Angeles Times, not only are students facing bigger bills because of the reduced state spending on higher education, but campus endowments are lessening greatly.

If you’re enrolled (or wish to enroll) in a four-year public college, the most severe budget problems cause annual tuition and fees to raise themselves over five percent to around $7,020 this fall, the Times reported.

If you’re in the more private realm, your school saw the value of their investments drop. Private college tuition didn’t climb as much though, mostly because a lot were afraid that if they raised their prices any more, families just simply wouldn’t be able to afford to go to their schools. The article reported tuition rose to around $26,000.

Many college officials though told students not to be scared about enrolling. Basically, there are always grants and scholarships. In fact, the Times said that two-thirds of all college students receive grant aid. This aid can reduce tuition bills by more than half, the College Board study said. Pretty crazy savings I’d say.

This College Board study said that 65 percent of us students who got their bachelor’s degrees in 2007-2008 graduated with student loan debt and the average amount was about $20,000.

As bad as that seems, there are some students who have it worse that others. California is the worst state for fee raises with fee increases by more than the national averages, the Times said. The University of California 10 campus group raised undergrad fees by 9.3 percent and is planning another increase that would put fees above $10,000 by next year. So good luck to future students on paying those bills!

Until the economy gets back on its feet, it doesn’t look like any end is in sight for those affected by college tuition. The important thing is to not panic, because if you really want to attend college and are worried about the money, things will always work out. It wouldn’t hurt to maybe look into part-time job work. Also, start looking for college scholarships early. Trust me, the earlier the better on this stuff. With patience and plenty of organization, everything will fall into place eventually. Just be patient.