More college students nationwide received more grant aid in 2000 than they did in 1990. That’s good news for both parents and college students trying to make ends meet. However, the rate of tuition increases has steadily outpaced those increases in financial aid.
The U.S. Department of Education has released a new report, “Paying for College,” that examines today’s rocketing college tuition costs for full-time undergraduates. This report is part of the “Condition of Education” report, which is published annually by the department’s National Center for Education Statistics.
Fifty-seven percent of all students received grants in 2000, while 45 percent received them in 1990. Meanwhile, forty-five percent of undergraduates took out loans for education in 2000, compared with 30 percent in 1990. The complete report is available online at http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/2004075.pdf (it requires Adobe Reader, which is available free).
