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Families
Overestimate College Costs, New Study Finds
Press Release, U.S. Department of Education, October 1,
2003
Contact: Stephanie Babyak or Jane Glickman at (202) 401-1576
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visit
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Citing a new
report that shows parents and students generally overestimate
college tuition costs by thousands of dollars, U.S. Education
Secretary Rod Paige today announced a new Web site to give
students and families the facts they need to plan and prepare
for college.
The National Center for Education Statistics report, "Getting
Ready for College," found that while the vast majority (91
percent) of students and parents report plans for higher
education, they are generally unable to estimate accurately the
cost of college tuition. When students and parents could offer
estimates of tuition costs, they tended to overestimate,
especially for public institutions. For example, in 1998-99, the
average yearly in-state undergraduate tuition at public
four-year colleges was approximately $3,200. However, students
in grades 11 and 12 who planned on attending public four-year
colleges and their parents estimated tuition to be between
$5,400 and $5,800.
"Clearly, there is a real need for public information on college
costs and financing. If the desire is there, so are the
resources—through federal aid or tax credits that can help
students realize their education goals, regardless of their
family circumstances," Secretary Paige said.
"That's why we're pleased to announce Student Aid on the Web—a
powerful new Web tool that encompasses the entire federal
student aid process. This new Web site does everything from
assess a student's career interests to help a student apply for
financial aid."
The new Web site
www.studentaid.ed.gov provides students and parents with
free, online tools to help them access information about higher
education and learn the facts about its affordability. For
example, the site offers:
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A student
profile feature to assess career interests, highlight schools
that offer degrees in those fields and offer job search
strategies;
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A calculator to
project education costs into the future and to develop a
financing plan;
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Information
about federal financial aid programs, tax credits and links to
private scholarship sites;
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Online federal
financial aid application;
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College
admission application processes and standardized testing
requirements for school admissions;
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A planning
timeline to help students schedule their high school courses to
meet academic requirements for the college of their choice; and
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Student and
parent loan repayment options.
"Thanks to the
No Child Left Behind Act, students will have the academic
preparation to explore a world of opportunities in education and
career choices. Student Aid on the Web offers the roadmap to
help them determine where they want to go and how to get there,"
Paige said.
Paige noted that the NCES report found that parents who sought
information about financial aid availability were more likely to
estimate tuition costs accurately than other parents. Similarly,
if students talked with someone about or read about financial
aid, they were more likely to provide accurate estimates of
tuition costs than other students.
"This simple but important finding suggests: the earlier that
students and their families become informed about the pathway to
higher education, the better their chances for success," Paige
said.
The report is based on data from the Parent and Youth Surveys of
the 1999 National Household Education Surveys Program. Data
taken from the surveys for this report are representative of the
nation's 6th-12th grade population. The report examines how much
college-bound students in grades 6-12 and their parents know
about the cost of attending college, the relationship between
their knowledge of college costs and how they go about preparing
for college. The report also examines whether they were saving
for college and were aware of various tax credits and
scholarships available to help offset college costs.
The Department of Education has a number of programs designed to
educate students and parents, especially low-income families,
about the availability of federal financial aid, including
through its Federal Student Aid Center (1-800-433-3243),
booklets and brochures, national career and college fairs,
partnering with high school counselors, and conducting
videoconferences with financial aid professionals. Other
programs such as the TRIO and GEAR UP programs are designed to
help high-risk, low-income, minority and first-generation
students prepare for college. In FY 2003, the GEAR UP and TRIO
programs received more than $1 billion to serve more than two
million students.
President Bush's 2004 budget request expands overall student aid
available for postsecondary education to a record $62 billion,
an increase of $3.1 billion, or 5 percent over the president's
2003 request. Working families will also see savings of $22.7
billion over five years in tax relief for expenses related to
higher education.
The free online resource Student Aid on the Web is located at
www.studentaid.ed.gov.
The NCES report, "Getting Ready to Pay for College," is
available at
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2003030.
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