As with everything else the cost of education has risen greatly. Increases in tuition of more than 6% a year are commonly seen today. For instance, in 1973 the price to register at UCLA (University of California) was a little over $200 per quarter and now it is well over $2,000 per quarter.
That ten times increase in cost is not too abnormal and many things cost ten times more than they cost 20 or 25 years ago. Salaries, by contrast have increased about three times in the same period from in the region of $15,000 - $30,000 a year to about $39,000 - $42,000 a year. The numbers vary by age, gender and a great deal more but as a rough guide a threefold increase is just about right.
Luckily there is some good news. There are a lot more forms of financial assistance available nowadays to both students and parents than there has ever been. Financial assistance, as its name implies, is money that parents and students get from grants, loans and scholarships granted by Federal and private lenders to assist students to pay for their education.
At one time, students could depend almost entirely on Stafford loans and Pell grants to finance their education costs and living expenses. These days Pell grants are still issued although they are needs based and meet a small percentage of college costs today. Stafford loans are also needs based but can meet 25% to 40% of the average cost of financing school nowadays. Another type of financial aid is Perkins loans that are similar to Stafford loans but that are issued only to particularly low income families.
Happily, PLUS loans (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students) are also available now and these were not an option a few years ago. PLUS loans are given to parents rather than students to help parents to pay for their child's college education. The interest rates for PLUS loans are reasonable and there are some restrictions and fees levied but they often form part of the student's total package of college funding.
A word to the wise about fees. Most loans are for a specified sum of money like $6,000 per year disbursed in several payments (often once per semester). However it's common for fees of up to 4% to be deducted from the loan amount before the funds are disbursed. That 4% fee on your $6,000 represents $240 that you will never see but that you must repay. If you are seeking a loan make sure that you do your homework and see if you can find a low or no-fee loan.
Though Federal loan programs like the subsidized Stafford loan program have low fees and the government pays the interest, they are certainly not the only source of financial aid today and are not necessarily the best choice.
Funding the cost of a college education nowadays is a complex undertaking and most students will have to put together a funding package that includes scholarships, college grants, government loans and private student college loans.
Happily, there are now far more funding options available than ever before and market competition between private financial institutions in particular means that you can find funds at a price which is not necessarily going to put you into lifelong debt.
You are also lucky to be living in an age where finding the information which you need to make wise decisions about the choices that are available to you is also fairly simple.
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