The Rising Cost of College

$13,425
Average tuition, room and board (for in-state students) at the nation’s four-year public colleges and universities for an entire academic year (2005-06). That is more than double the corresponding figure in 1990. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

$36,510
Average tuition, room and board at the nation’s four-year private colleges and universities for one academic year (2005-06). That also is more than double the corresponding 1990 figure. (Source: Upcoming Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2008)

$6,291
Average amount of aid received by full-time college students in 2001-02. More than half of college students receive some form of financial aid from outside their families to help pay for their education.