College Costs Increase Three Times Faster Than the Consumer Price Index
This report is from the Detroit Free Press (November 12, 2006). It was taken from USA Today.
The headline announced: Dealing with soaring college tuition Parents' savings have little impact on aid
Tax-funded college tuition fees are up in 2006 by 6.3%.
This is three times the increase of the consumer price index. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Wednesday, October 18, 2006: "The September level of 202.9 (1982-84=100) was 2.1 percent higher than in September 2005."
Worse, "over the past five years, the cost of college, after adjustment for inflation, has risen 35%."
To beat this, families rely on "free" money from the Federal Government. But this strategy is no longer working.
College Board officials point out that most families don't pay the full sticker price for college, once financial aid and tax benefits are included. Yet the report shows that financial aid is shrinking. The amount of money awarded through the Pell Grant program, the largest source of federal aid for low-income students, fell for the first time in six years.