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AFFORDABILITY
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FAMILY ABILITY TO PAY
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At Community Colleges
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At Public 4-Year Colleges |
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At Private 4-Year Colleges
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STRATEGIES FOR AFFORDABILITY
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Need-Based Financial Aid
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Low-Priced Colleges
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RELIANCE ON LOANS
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Low Student Debt
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How affordable is higher
education for students and their families?
In all states, students and families are required to pay a substantial
portion of their income to enroll in higher education. Few states offer
both low-priced colleges and significant amounts of financial aid targeted
to low-income students and families.
Family Ability to Pay
A family's ability to pay for college is determined by the share of family
income needed to pay for tuition, fees, room and board, and other college
expenses-minus financial aid.
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Students and families in Utah pay
a smaller portion of their income for college than families in any
other state. A combination of low tuitions, substantial financial
aid, and solid family incomes means that Utah residents need to devote
an average of about 16% of their income to attend public institutions
and 21% to attend private institutions. |
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The proportion of family income required
to pay for higher education at public four-year institutions in Vermont
is 38%-compared with 16% in Utah. |
In many states, tremendous gaps exist among income groups concerning
their ability to pay for college.
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Low-income families in
Rhode Island must devote 76% of their income, after financial aid,
to pay for college at two-year institutions. In contrast, high-income
families need to devote only 7%. |
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In New York, low-income
families would pay 211% of their family income to attend private four-year
institutions. High-income families devote just 18% of their income.
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Strategies for Affordability
Most states make a comparatively low investment in need-based financial
aid (aid directed to low-income students and their families). The average
performance of the top five states in providing need-based financial aid
is four times the average performance for the rest of the states.
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The top-performing state in providing
need-based financial aid, Illinois, provides more grant aid than the
federal government to Illinois residents. Pennsylvania, New Jersey,
and Minnesota also provide more need-based grant aid than the federal
government. |
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Four states (Alaska, Georgia, South
Dakota, and Wyoming) provide no need-based financial aid to state
residents. |
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Only four states (California, Colorado, Illinois, and Virginia)
offer both low-cost colleges and high levels of need-based
aid. |
Reliance on Loans
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In six states, the average loan amount
borrowed by undergraduate students is less than $3,000 annually. In one state,
the average amount borrowed is above $4,000 per year. |
Note: Many states received a lower grade on affordability in Measuring Up 2002 than in 2000. State
grades measure how well a state performs in relationship to other states. California's exceptional performance since Measuring Up 2000
resulted in a lower grade for most other states.
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| Grades measure a state's performance in relation to other states. |
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California
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Illinois, Minnesota, Utah, Virginia
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Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, North
Carolina, Oklahoma, Washington, Wisconsin
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Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts,
Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Nevada, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Wyoming
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Alabama, Delaware, Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island,
South Dakota, Vermont, West Virginia
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| California is the top-performing state in affordability. |
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