Americans are concerned about the price of college. About three- STATS IN BRIEF quarters of Americans believe that college U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION DECEMBER 2019 NCES 2020-470 is not affordable for everyone who needs it (Lumina Foundation and Gallup 2016). Such attitudes may reflect the year-over- year increase in college expenses since 1981 (Snyder, de Brey, and Dillow 2017) and the decreasing proportion of college What Is the Price costs that are covered by the maximum Pell Grant award, an important form of federal student financial aid (Cahalan and of College? Perna 2015). To finance the cost of college attendance, undergraduate students are increasingly likely to take out loans, Total, Net, and Out-of-Pocket including private, Stafford, Direct PLUS Prices in 2015–16 Loans (Woo and Velez 2016; Horn and Paslov 2014). Scholars have raised concerns that the amount of debt borne by recent college graduates may delay the attainment of milestones associated with AUTHORS PROJECT OFFICER Courtney A. Moore David Richards adulthood later in life, such as buying a Albert Y. Liu National Center for Education Statistics house, getting married, and having Catharine Warner-Griffin children (Brown, Caldwell, and Sutherland Jackson Miller 2014; Gallup and Purdue University 2015; Insight Policy Research Looney and Yannelis 2015). Students can choose among colleges of various institution controls and levels and face systematically different prices as a result (Radwin and Wei 2015; Wei 2010). Control is a classification of whether the institution is publicly or privately funded and operated, and level is a classification Statistics in Brief publications present descriptive data in of whether the institution offers programs tabular formats to provide useful information to a broad audience, that are 4 years or longer, at least 2 including members of the general public. They address simple and but fewer than 4 years, or fewer than topical issues and questions. They do not investigate more complex hypotheses, account for inter-relationships among variables, or This report was prepared for the National Center for support causal inferences. We encourage readers who are Education Statistics under Contract No. ED-IES-16-A- interested in more complex questions and in-depth analysis to 0008/0002 with Insight Policy Research. Mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations explore other NCES resources, including publications, online data does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. tools, and public- and restricted-use datasets. See nces.ed.gov and references noted in the body of this document for more information. 2 years.1 In the 2011–12 school year, repaid or earned. Because the rising DATA AND METHODS students attending public two-year price of attending public and private The findings in this report are based on institutions faced the lowest prices and postsecondary institutions is a factor the 2015–16 National Postsecondary those attending private nonprofit affecting student debt (Woo 2013), a Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16). 4-year institutions faced the highest fourth measure is out-of-pocket net Conducted by the National Center for prices, even after accounting for price minus all aid except student Education Statistics (NCES), NPSAS:16 is financial aid (Radwin and Wei 2015). loans, which provides an indication of a comprehensive, nationally the price at the time of attendance plus representative survey of STUDY QUESTIONS the principal loan amount in the survey undergraduate and graduate students This Statistics in Brief updates previous year. The measure, which does not enrolled in postsecondary institutions studies of college prices (Radwin and include interest payments associated that are eligible to distribute student Wei 2015; Wei 2010) by examining with student loans because such costs aid under Title IV of the Higher multiple measures of the price of are not definitively known until Education Act. The target population college attendance for students in the repayment is complete, was not consists of about 20 million 2015–16 school year. The first measure included in prior studies but has been undergraduate students and 4 million is the total price of attendance, which added to this report due to rising graduate students enrolled at eligible is the sum of tuition and nontuition policy interest in the burden of student postsecondary institutions in the expenses. Because many students loans. Each measure provides a 50 states, the District of Columbia, and receive grants and other aid to cover different perspective on the price of Puerto Rico any time between July 1, the total price of attendance, this college attendance, and each may 2015, and June 30, 2016. report also presents some alternative affect the enrollment decisions made Approximately 89,000 undergraduates measures of the price of college by prospective students. and 24,000 graduate students in attendance. The second measure is the NPSAS:16 provided information about This report will examine the price of net price after grant aid, which is the how they financed their postsecondary college by addressing the following total price of attendance minus all education. federal, state, institutional, and private research questions: source grants. Grant aid, including The sample used in this report is 1. What are the average prices for full- scholarships and tuition waivers, limited to undergraduates who are time undergraduates, by institution generally does not need to be earned enrolled full time for the full academic control and level? through work or repaid. The third year (at least 9 months) at a single measure is the out-of-pocket net price 2. How do the components of average academic institution, referred to as “full minus all aid, which represents the total and net price of attendance time” throughout this report. Full-time amount students and their families experienced by students vary by students, who make up 37.7 percent of face at the time of attendance. This institution control and level? all students at Title IV schools, face measure differs from the second higher prices relative to part-time 3. How do the net prices for full-time measure by subtracting all other aid, students (Campbell and Bentz independent and dependent such as loans, work study, job training forthcoming). Because the proportion undergraduates vary by income and grants, military tuition aid, and of full-time students varies by institution control and level? veterans’ benefits that usually must be institution control and level, restricting 1 To learn more about the types of institutions, visit the online college search tool, College Navigator, at http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator. 2 the sample to full-time students of institutions or enrolled in more than by systematically different types facilitates more valid comparisons of one institution. of students. prices across different types of colleges. Any systematic differences in In some instances, estimates are also All comparisons of estimates were prices would not be due instead to presented by the dependency status tested for statistical significance systematic differences in attendance and associated income of the student. using the Student’s t statistic, and patterns. Independent students include those only differences that are statistically who are age 24 or older and those who significant at the p < .05 level are Estimates are presented by institution are under 24 who are married, have discussed in the report. No control and level. The analysis in this dependents, are veterans or on active adjustments were made for multiple report focuses on public 2-year duty, are orphans or wards of the comparisons, and the comparisons institutions, public 4-year institutions, courts, are homeless or at risk of reported do not present an exhaustive private for-profit institutions, and homelessness, or have been list of all statistically significant results private nonprofit 4-year institutions. determined to be independent by a from the study. Readers are cautioned Public 2-year institutions enrolled financial aid officer using professional against drawing causal inferences 16 percent of undergraduates, while judgment. Other undergraduates based on the results presented as public 4-year institutions enrolled under age 24 are considered to be the study design is descriptive in 44 percent and private nonprofit 4-year dependent. The income used for nature. Appendix A contains standard institutions enrolled 22 percent (table financially dependent students is errors for all estimates presented 1). Private for-profit institutions, which family income, while the income used in this report. include less-than-2-year, 2-year, and for financially independent students is 4-year colleges and universities, student income, including the spouse’s enrolled 6 percent of undergraduates. income if relevant. Separate estimates The remaining 13 percent of by dependency status allow for an undergraduates enrolled in other types examination of the price of college TABLE 1. UNDERGRADUATE ENROLLMENT, TUITION, AND TOTAL PRICE for full-time, full-year undergraduates, by institution control and level: 2015–16 Institution control and level Percentage distribution Average tuition1 Average total price1 Total 100.00 $15,900 $30,500 Public 2-year 15.7 $3,800 $16,100 Public 4-year 44.2 $11,800 $26,900 Private for-profit2 6.0 $17,600 $32,600 Private nonprofit 4-year 21.6 $32,800 $48,000 Other, or more than one institution 12.5 $11,500 $27,500 1 Tuition includes all tuition and fees. Average tuition and average total price of attendance estimates are shown for those attending only one institution. 2 Private for-profit institutions include less-than-2-year, 2-year, and 4-year institutions. NOTE: Full-time status for the purposes of financial aid eligibility is based on 12 credit hours, unless the awarding institution employs a different standard. Students are considered to have attended for a full year if they are enrolled for 9 or more months during the academic year. Months do not have to be contiguous and students do not have to be enrolled for a full month to be considered enrolled for that month.