Financial Worries at College

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College is expensive. Whether your child goes to a public or private school, commutes or resides, the college bill in almost all areas of the country is severely painful to the pocketbook. To some parents, this comes as a shock because when they went to college back in the 1970s, the cost was usually less than $5,000 per year for a private college and less than $2,000 per year for a public college. But the fees began to jump in the 1980s. In fact, between 1981 and 1994, costs increased 153 percent at public universities and over 200 percent at private universities. During this same period, median family income in the United States increased by 75 percent, only half of the public university cost increases.¹ Today, the tuition climb continues, with no slowdown in sight. The College Board has reported that college costs in 2003 rose 9.8 percent at public schools and 5.7 at private schools, the largest increase in thirty years. That's an especially big jump considering that inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, rose just above 2 percent that year.² Today, parents face paying a whopping $40,000 a year at top-tier private universities and about half that at public institutions. That's not out-of-pocket affordable for many people.

The second shock comes when the extras are added in. The figures printed in the college guidebooks do not include the hidden costs of a college education; things like computers, books, lab fees, activity fees, health services fees, laundry, clothing, transportation out of the region or across the country in some cases, and the cost of socializing drive up the bottom line even further. It is no wonder that student anxiety and guilt are commonly associated with the price tag of today's higher education.

If the student's family is paying the bill, even if there is some financial aid in the form of grants or student loans, there is generally some personal sacrifice involved. Some parents take on second jobs or second mortgages, and give up personal pleasures such as vacations, restaurant dinners, and new clothing. In some cases, the sacrifices are silent and subtle; in other cases, they are loud and very apparent. Either way, the young adult is well aware of the family situation and often feels an overwhelming sense of guilt.

Children of Divorce

Students from divorced families are commonly caught in a highly stressful financial situation at home that spills over and affects their college experience. Most colleges have a financial aid policy requiring both parents to contribute to the cost of education, even when one or both are unwilling. This means that the student must gather financial aid application forms and tax forms from both parents. Sometimes the noncustodial parent will not cooperate, and the tensions of the divorce are reignited, with the young adult at the center of the dispute.

Even when children of divorce manage to get these forms from both parents, they must go through the process repeatedly because they must reapply for their aid each year. If at any point they are un­ successful in getting the cooperation of both parents, the financial aid package may change dramatically and push them out of school. This is the harsh reality that these students live with.