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Vanderbilt will soon cost $100,000 a year for some students. How did we get here?

Apr 8, 2024
While Vanderbilt offers merit aid and need-based financial aid, its high sticker cost says a lot about college affordability in the U.S.
The cost for some students at Vanderbilt University for the 2024-25 school year? North of $98,000.
BugsMeanee via Wikimedia Commons

Cal State is the latest public university system to increase tuition

Sep 15, 2023
Students will pay 6% more every year for five years starting in 2024.
The California State University system is the latest of several public colleges who have increased tuition. Operating costs have gone up, and state budget allocations rarely grow with inflation.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images

Revised FAFSA could simplify a dreaded rite of passage for students

Aug 29, 2023
It’s intended to make the process of getting financial aid less painful.
Over 40% of high school seniors didn’t submit the FAFSA last year, according to the National College Attainment Network.
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In some states, undocumented students miss out on in-state tuition

Apr 19, 2023
In Indiana, an undocumented student might pay almost $17,000 more per year.
Ivy Tech Community College student Renee Contreras sits inside the school’s Center for Intercultural Excellence in Indianapolis, Indiana, on Monday, March 20, 2023.
Elizabeth Gabriel

Most financial aid offers have a fuzzy bottom line, GAO reports

Dec 9, 2022
More than 90% of American colleges write offers without stating the net price. That makes it hard for prospective students to compare schools.
More than 90% of American colleges either don’t supply the final price in those letters or understate it, according to a report from the Government Accountability Office.
Andy Jacobsohn/AFP via Getty Images

Why is college so expensive to begin with?

Aug 24, 2022
In the past fifty years, tuition at both public and private schools has more than tripled, even after accounting for inflation.
Biden recently announced a student loan forgiveness plan, which will forgive up to a certain amount of loans for people who make under $125,000.
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College enrollment has dropped again since last spring

May 26, 2022
Rising wages for entry-level positions may be luring young people who are opting to work instead of attend college. What might this shift mean for the workforce in the longterm?
Higher education enrollment continues to drop, even after classes have returned to in-person.

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Will tuition waivers make universities more accessible to Indigenous students?

May 2, 2022
The University of California is the latest public land grant university system to waive tuition for some Native American students. But tuition costs are just one financial barrier that keeps Indigenous people from getting degrees.
Starting this fall, tuition will be waved for students enrolled in the University of California system who are citizens of federally recognized tribes. Above, an aerial view of UCLA.
dszc/Getty Images

How a Kentucky teen is balancing work and her first year of college

Feb 3, 2022
Aneesha Edwards has a full tuition scholarship but still expects to take on about $10,000 of debt every year she's in school.
Aneesha Edwards, a college student, also makes time to work at a pharmacy. With so many Americans quitting their jobs, she feels workers, in many cases, deserve better treatment.
Courtesy Aneesha Edwards

Inside one family's journey to find an affordable college

The long road to a merit scholarship included 30 applications and 90 admissions essays.
For Lara Mordenti Perrault's daughter, the long road to a merit scholarship included 30 applications and 90 admissions essays.
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