How much does college cost?

This topic comes up in various threads, so let's put it in a single thread here.

What are all the factors that affect the price of college? Residency in a given state? Merit (measured how)? Need (assets and income -- which types)? What do we know about FAFSA, CSSprofile, and anything similar? How do colleges set their price for each individual? What do we know?

What has everyone discovered or experienced?

What's it like in other countries, and how is it for foreigners to those countries?

Inevitably, admissions criteria also become part of the conversation.

Let's discuss it all here.

My final answer:

College costs way too much.

/thread

It is very difficult for higher ed to keep pace with the efficiency improvements in other industries.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/timworstall/...ost-of-college/

Nonetheless, college appears to remain a good investment, both in making people more informed citizens and increasing their earnings potential. One doesn't necessarily have to go to an Ivy...

DeeDee

Here is a fun graph of student loan debt!

Readers will note that growth spiked and then moved up at a nice clip in 2005, which was the same year in which the bankruptcy reform law was enacted. SL debt pretty much kept pace with household debt until that year.

Presumably, the lenders knew that inability to discharge debt (even through death) = lots of profit. So now anyone can get a student loan.

And of course, with tuition loans so readily available, the colleges have zero incentive to keep costs down.

It's too much. It makes me sick. It's cost prohibitive for many families.

Ugh. That 'fun' graph looks bleak to me. Then again, I have to yet to start to pay off my student loan from getting my library degree. Sigh.

I don't see how this lending is sustainable long-term, especially with housing still be very high and the exorbitant cost of childcare in many areas of the country.

Childcare is now rivals college tuition - a fact that should garner more attention than it does. Of course, at the moment, you can't get a student loan for daycare or nursery school, but I can see this coming soon.

UK and Canadian universities (and probably others abroad) are still cheaper, at the moment, as an alternative but I don't know what to say if you're planning to get a degree and eventually have a family. Prince Harry is still available, I think!

Many colleges are at 60k a year including room, board, transportation and personal expenses. What each family pays varies based on income and assets. Each college calculates financial aid based on its own formula. To get an idea of how much your family might pay, go to a college's website and fill out the net price calculator. Some colleges are more generous than others. Some only give out need based aid while others give merit based aid to attract good students.

I'll admit that I never ever think about the cost of child care.

However, my wife was able to make money at one point by taking care of a friend's child.

So, I suppose when I think of it at all, I think of it as income and not cost.

Around here, child care starts around $185 per week and goes up from there. Most places have waiting lists and so they can set rules that suit them. Like, parents have to keep paying when they're on vacation and Little Junior isn't attending or when day care is closed for the 4th of July week.

So that's nearly $10,000 annually for one child.

ETA: This is for family daycare in someone's house. Centers cost more.

I pay $1600/month for daycare for one child, before extras. I cannot wait for kindergarten to start.