The cost of attending college has been on the rise for many years. In the modern world, enrollment in a collegiate program is often a prerequisite for the kind of career that you might be looking for as a soon-to-be high school graduate. This means that finding ways to manage the costs while soaring through your coursework is a crucial point of focus as you begin to size up college campuses and degree programs for the coming school year and beyond.
It’s a great idea to learn about college tuition and financial assistance as you prepare for life as a university student. With this guide, making sense of the rising cost of tuition and some of the options that you have to deal with this inflated cost can help you navigate your future with greater ease and confidence. Continue reading to learn more about the financial transition from high school to college and how to prepare for it.
College tuition is rising as a result of inflation, additional service inclusions, and a measure of corporate greed.
College students can expect to pay more than their parents for many of the same educational opportunities. This is a sad fact of life for many who are considering attending a university to continue their scholastic journey. But there are many ways to mitigate these costs with the help of financial assistance, grants, and other programs that can reduce or even eliminate the financial burden of college coursework. With a resource like TuitionHero, finding information about grants, scholarships, and low-cost financial aid options that can supplement the FAFSA funding that you are entitled to as a collegiate participant is simple and condensed into one easy to use location. Tuition Hero is a new resource for those who are approaching student loans, financial aid options, and grant funding for their college degree programs.
Cynically, the cost of a college education has risen by 169 percent over the last four decades, and much of this jump in price comes down to a healthy dose of quasi-corporate greed. The vast majority of American colleges operate under a generalized umbrella of public-private partnerships. Colleges are for-profit entities, but they work intimately with the federal government to ensure the quality of life inclusions for students, a high standard of learning, and more. Likewise, because of these links, the federal government is invested in both the continued accessibility of learning opportunities for students (and leverages massive financial resources in the form of financial aid to students to facilitate this) and in the fiscal solvency of the educational centers that students seek enrollment in.
On a more positive note, rising costs aren’t simply a result of increased profits for college administrators and stakeholders. Included in these hikes are vastly expanded library services, mental health resources, community engagement programs in the form of college extension offices, and much more.
College hopefuls have to play the game in order to “win” in this environment.
However, none of these added benefits make paying for college any easier. In order to provide for the financial burden of college education, high school students have to “play the game.” This means sourcing and applying for as many scholarship and financial aid award opportunities as they can. This will feel like a full-time job, but with the help of great financial resource additions to your overall financial aid award, the payout will be worth the effort.
Just like the expanded costs of this education, there is a wealth of financial opportunity out there that’s being squandered every year. According to a NerdWallet analysis, the graduating class of 2018 left $2.6 billion in Pell Grant funding unclaimed in the form of 661,000 eligible graduates who failed to complete their application for this free financial aid resource.
College costs are on the rise, but using free resources to help offset this cost is an essential consideration that will make your college experience far more enjoyable while discounting the price by a huge margin.