This is a very insightful infographic by Varsity Tutors, outlining the costs of higher education in America. Given the state of the economy, it’s important
for many families to save money.
College prices are rapidly increasing, that’s a fact. And while we usually think about tuition prices in terms of costs, tuition actually only represents a portion of the overall costs. Text books, room and board, transportation, and other costs can quickly add up!
Consider cost at an in-state 4 year public school. Tuition and fees cost an average of $8,655 per year. Room and board actually costs more, weighing in at $9,205 dollars per year! Books and supplies cost another $1,200 while transportation costs $1,110 and clothing another $2,091.
That’s all for a grand total of $22,261 dollars per year! So that basically means that tuition accounts for only a little more than a third of the cost of attending a school for a year.
Luckily, there is a lot of aid available to cover costs. While some of the aid comes in the form of loans, the average student receives almost $6,600 in aid per year at a public school and $14,200 from private non-profit schools.
Even with all of that aid, however, the average student graduates with over 27,000 dollars worth of debt! Student loan debt now exceeds 1 trillion dollars and costs will likely continue to rise!
