According to a new by the , tuition and fees, adjusted for inflation and offset by federal grants and tax benefits, are actually lower than they were five years ago. Although tuition and fees rose steadily over the past five years, grants and financial aid outpaced this growth, leading to a net decrease in the actual average price paid by students. The decrease affected both public two-and four-year institutions and private four-year colleges, but were , where tuition increased by 4.6 percent and financial aid increased by 7 percent this year.
In all, inflation-adjusted net tuition at private schools has decreased 11.2 percent in five years. , low-income students generally received grant money that covered all of tuition and fees, with about $1,720 left over for other educational expenses. These findings seem to suggest a shift to a high-tuition, high-aid model in higher education, especially as state investment in colleges and universities declines.
The College Board reported similar findings last year. More about how the 91探花seeks to make higher education accessible to all students is available on the and the program website.