As the time comes for parents to write the dreaded annual check for tuition to Georgetown this year, they may be surprised to find that the price has increased by 5.5 percent from last year to its record current high of $26,544 per year. Georgetown, however, is not alone in raising tuition rates – among the nation’s other 1,730 private four-year colleges and universities, the average tuition increased this fall by 5.8 percent to a total of $18,273.
Four-year public colleges and universities increased their cost of tuition even more, with an average increase of 9.6 percent, the College Board announced this week. Specialists of higher education claimed that the staggering tuition increases at public universities is the outcome of a recently slowing economy that has resulted in smaller government appropriations, causing state officials to raise tuition.
“The College Board’s new report on tuition and student aid confirms what we know too well: That the poor performance of the economy has had a substantial and negative impact on tax revenue and endowments, and consequently college tuitions,” President of the American Council on Education David Ward said in an Oct. 21 Washington Post article. “This effect can be seen most vividly in the public sector of higher education, where enormous cuts in state appropriations have led governors and legislatures to enact tuition increases.”
The fee for room and board has also greatly increased at both private and public institutions. At public colleges, the average cost of living on campus increased to $9,663, a 6 percent increase from last year, while private colleges and universities room-and-board price has only risen by 4.7 percent to an average of $6,479.
The percentage increase of tuition varies from college to college. Locally, Maryland’s public university system approved at most of the campuses a lesser tuition and fee increase of 5.5 percent for in-state students this year. In Virginia, however, no matter from what state the undergraduate students came, tuition and fees increased by 9 percent, while George Mason University’s total increase reached almost 25 percent.
The College Board assures the public that even with recent increases, financial aid, grants and scholarships have put the price of a college education within reach for those who might deem it unaffordable. At public four-year institutions, 60 percent of students receive financial aid, as do 75 percent of students at the more expensive private colleges and universities.
At Georgetown, according to the Office of Communication, more than 55 percent of undergraduate students receive financial aid in some form. In 2000-01 alone, Georgetown undergraduates received $71 million in grants, scholarships, employment, loans and tuition benefits. The financial aid is funded by both federal and state programs, private commercial and philanthropic organizations and by Georgetown University itself. The average grant is $12,000 at Georgetown, and scholarship awards range from $500 to the full tuition, based on the demonstrated need of the student.
“Georgetown University is proud to be among the few educational institutions in the United States that practice need-blind admissions and meet 100 percent of the demonstrated financial need of eligible undergraduates. We believe these programs help us to enroll and retain the most talented students who enhance the Georgetown educational community in endless ways,” Patricia McWade, dean of Student Financial Services said on the Office of Communications Web site.
Because of Georgetown’s limited endowment, which was at $705.5 million at the end of the fiscal year in June 2001, and has decreased since last year’s value of $764.4 million, Georgetown cannot provide as many scholarships or as much financial aid as some students would like, but students are generally pleased with aid packages. “Georgetown practices need-blind undergraduate admissions and meets the full financial need of all eligible students,” Assistant Vice President for Communications Julie Green Bataille said. “This means that Georgetown admits and enrolls students without regard to their financial circumstances and is committed to insuring they can attend by meeting their full demonstrated financial need.”
Some students, however, find it difficult to afford the price of tuition even with the help of financial aid. “I know that there are people who need it more than me, so I think Georgetown does its best to distribute [financial aid] as it’s needed . It was hard for me because my grant changed a lot from one year to the other when my brother graduated from college, and I had to work out staying here and find a different way to pay,” Courtney Luongo (COL ’05) said.
A 2001 nationwide report by the nonpartisan National Center for Public Policy indicates that even with financial aid, colleges and universities will become even harder to afford in the future. The study compared college affordability state by state, taking into consideration the large socioeconomic gaps that play a role in meeting the cost of college. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported similar results, finding that the tuition element of the Consumer Price Index had risen by 8 percent per year from 1979 to 2001. Assuming the trend continues, parents of children born in 2002 will face tuitions three to four times greater than the current average price.
