A recent report highlighted that the cost of attending private colleges has increased significantly for higher-income students over the last decade, making it seem like college is only affordable for wealthy families. Despite this, families with incomes below $50,000 are still expected to pay close to $25,000 to send their children to a typical private institution, which is clearly unaffordable for many. This disparity in pricing is further exacerbated at public colleges, where the net price for low-income students has risen from $12,500 in 1995-96 to $18,000 in 2019-20 when adjusted for inflation.
The widening gap between the published price of college and the actual cost is a major deterrent for less affluent students, particularly those from Black and Hispanic backgrounds. Sticker shock plays a significant role in dissuading potential applicants from even considering higher education, as they are discouraged by the seemingly high costs associated with attending college. In response to this issue, some institutions are starting to “reset” tuition fees to better reflect what students will actually pay, in an effort to make college more accessible and attract a more diverse pool of applicants.
An example of this tuition reset approach can be seen at Bridgewater College in Virginia, which announced a drastic reduction in published tuition from $40,300 to $15,000, taking effect the following academic year. By lowering the sticker price, colleges like Bridgewater hope to remove the barrier of high costs and make the true affordability of education more transparent to prospective students and their families. This move signifies a shift towards making higher education more attainable for students from all financial backgrounds, rather than perpetuating the notion that college is only for the privileged few.
