The Price of College

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Eighty percent of all full-time undergraduates received some combination of grants, loans, work-study, or other type of aid. What Is the Price of College? Total, Net, and Out-of-Pocket Prices in 2007–08, a Statistics in Brief describes the annual price of education among undergraduates enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions in 2007–08. The data come from the most recent administration of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). Other findings include:

• In 2007–08, the average total price of attendance for full-time undergraduates (tuition plus living expenses) varied widely by the type of institution attended, ranging from $12,600 at public 2-year colleges to $18,900 at public 4-year institutions, $28,600 at for-profit institutions, and $35,500 at private nonprofit 4-year institutions.

• Students at for-profit institutions are shown to receive federal grants and student loans at considerably higher rates than those at other types of institutions. Even with such high percentages of Pell Grant and Stafford loan recipients, low-income students at for-profit schools still face the highest average out-of-pocket net prices compared to all other postsecondary institutions. The average out-of-pocket net price was $11,700 among low-income students at for-profit institutions but the average for those enrolled elsewhere ranged from $6,000 to $9,800.