How can college be more affordable

Student loans can help with tuition and living expenses, making college possible for millions — but in the long term, the average student loan adds thousands of dollars to the bottom line. While student loans have become standard, maximizing college's return on investment means keeping loans to a minimum. For many, the best way to pay for college is a combination of methods. You can find free money for college through grants and scholarships , earn cheaper credits and certificates online , work a part-time job on campus, or even graduate a semester or more early.

Ultimately, it's up to you to decide which methods work best for you. Staying in your home state for college is a great way to save money. Colleges assume you and your family pay taxes in your state of residence; those tax dollars support education, so in-state students get a break. Barring any state agreements common among public colleges in neighboring states , out-of-state students can pay two or three times as much in tuition costs — closer to private college rates.

Attending college out of state nearly triples the sticker price. Another financial boon of staying in your home state is not having to pay for housing. Schools may waive some or all of the out-of-state markup as part of a scholarship bundle, but such a write-off is far from guaranteed.

If you're determined to attend an out-of-state school, apply for grant and scholarship money early, and be sure to communicate with the admissions office if tuition is still out of reach. There's also the possibility of establishing residency in the state where you would like to attend college. Residency rules vary by state and institution , but the rule of thumb says students must be financially independent and able to prove they've lived in the state for at least one year.

One of the most affordable pathways to a bachelor's degree is to start out at a community college. Annual tuition at community colleges is a fraction of what you would pay at four-year institutions — even at public colleges paying in-state rates. For the average private college tuition, tack on another zero. While community colleges provide a cost-effective alternative, they're not overwhelmingly successful at transferring their students to universities.

If you're interested in taking the community college route to save money, make a transfer plan with your academic counselor. They can help you navigate course selections to ensure your credits transfer to your target school. For-profit colleges have come under fire from educators and policymakers who say these institutions prey on underserved students, leaving them with debt rather than viable career options.

Currently, the default rate on loans for students attending for-profit schools is twice that for students attending public two-year colleges. For-profit schools make big promises to students using deceptive marketing practices and then fail to graduate their students or connect them with promised job opportunities. The Trump administration rolled back Obama-era provisions that required for-profit colleges to prove they were preparing students for gainful employment, but President-elect Joe Biden promises to resurrect these regulations.

Not only do for-profit institutions cost more, but they also benefit graduates the least. While any education will increase projected income, researchers estimate that graduates of associate degree programs at for-profit colleges experience the smallest earnings gains of all. Department of Justice. We still have a long way to go, however, to ensure students have access to more affordable course materials.

As hours are reduced and more service, retail and hospitality jobs are lost to the COVID pandemic, many Americans—including many student loan borrowers—are struggling to make ends meet.

We commend federal lawmakers for putting a freeze on student loan repayments during this time of crisis. Your donation supports U. Make Higher Education Affordable. Student Debt Is Skyrocketing Higher education in America continues to be critical for both individual success and the social and economic health of our country.

News Release Higher Ed. New Secretary Cardona to forgive loans for some borrowers whose schools shut down. Blog Post Higher Ed. Report U.

News Release U. Four new initiatives will save students millions. Result Higher Ed. New report says deals with publishers could make college textbooks more expensive. Report Higher Ed. The major source of this support is philanthropy, made up of earnings on endowments and annual gifts. Private institutions with smaller endowments also provide aid from tuition revenue by using the revenue from some students to provide financial aid to other students.

However, increasing institutional aid by using tuition revenue is not sustainable. Therefore, the key to making private institutions more affordable is increasing endowments through philanthropy. Of course, some may argue that rather than finding new sources of revenue, colleges could simply cut their costs and reduce tuition. This would make college more affordable but it would also reduce the quality of the education provided. Higher education is a very competitive market, and students and their families demand quality — as they should.

We must do our best to educate students in a global environment, keeping pace with technological innovations, teaching critical thinking, fostering comfort with ambiguity, and graduating nimble leaders who will thrive in a rapidly changing era. The high level of tuition in U. On top of shrinking state appropriations there are more technology-intensive degrees in every field; an aging campus infrastructure; a sharp increase in compliance and regulations reporting; and soaring health care costs.

University administrators should be deeply concerned that our price is limiting access to an education that enables upward mobility. Interestingly, the conversation on access and affordability seems to be fixated on controlling, first and foremost, the increase in tuition. We need to broaden the framing of this discussion considerably. The first step is to change the conversation to one of the total cost of a degree. The simple fact is that timely completion of a degree is a critical mechanism to control total cost.

A tuition increase pales in comparison to going to school for another year. The second step is to recognize that the only thing worse than going five and six years in order to graduate, is to accumulate debt and drop out before graduation. A postsecondary credential has never been more important. In today's economy, higher education is no longer a luxury for the privileged few, but a necessity for individual economic opportunity and America's competitiveness in the global economy.

At a time when jobs can go anywhere in the world, skills and education will determine success for individuals and for nations. As a result, a college education remains the best investment a student can make in his or her future. But unfortunately, for millions of other students, our higher education system isn't delivering what they need, or deserve. In part because of the rising costs of college, too many students are unable to enroll or complete high-quality degrees.

Too many recent college graduates feel the weight of their student loan payments holding them back from fulfilling their full potential. And far too many prospective college students feel as though they are simply priced out of the education they need to set themselves up for future success.

There is a significant opportunity gap as well. While half of Americans from high-income families hold a bachelor's degree by age 25, just 1 in 10 people from low-income families attain that level of education. Moreover, regardless of income status, high-school graduates who enroll in college too often fail to finish: barely half will complete their degree in a reasonable time at four-year institutions; and at two-year schools it's only about a third.

Every hard-working student deserves a real opportunity to earn an affordable, high-quality degree or credential that offers a clear path to civic engagement, economic security, and success.