Are Colleges Serious About Reducing the Cost of an Education?

If you have a high school age son or daughter who is planning to attend college, you may find yourself suffering from “sticker shock” caused by the high costs of a college education. Tuition, room and board costs continued to rise through the recession, seemingly immune to economic pressure. Some people blame the federal government for making subsidized loans so readily available, leading colleges to simply tap into this seemingly endless source of revenue.

 As a result, more and more students and their families are borrowing their way through college. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates that the average debt of a 2011 U.S. college graduate was $23,300, with 10 percent owing more than $54,000 and 3 percent more than $100,000.

Is there anything that can slow the upward spiral of college costs? It may be up to the schools to rein in excessive programs and wasteful spending that have been covered by higher tuition and fees. Some colleges and universities are finally beginning to see the handwriting on the wall.

A recent New York Times article entitled “Slowly, as Student Debt Rises, Colleges Confront Costs,” looks at how three colleges in Ohio, including Ohio State University, are beginning to address the escalating costs of a college education. You can read the article here.

Campus Bound President and financial aid expert Gregg Cohen, reacts to the article:

"The article does indicate that college administrators are aware of the problems created by the high costs of an education. And it notes there is a “tipping point” where students have to choose between the quality of the education and its cost.

However, I believe it is unlikely that the growth in college costs will abate in the near future. The value of a college education is still too great, and students and parents too willing to find sources of funding. Proof of this is found in the increasing number of applicants for admission to the country’s top colleges and universities, despite four-year costs that are quickly approaching a quarter-million dollars."

Which makes financial aid planning a critical part of the college search and application process. Too many students and parents do not start to think about applying for financial aid until they are far along in the admissions process.

Financial aid planning and preparation should be a part of the process from the very start, and not left until the end. Otherwise you may find yourself scrambling to compete for available funds, or lining up to become one of the borrowers who will graduate saddled with a heavy debt load.