Cost should always be a factor in college selection, though a fair amount of students are aware of this. A recent survey of recent freshmen by scientists from UCLA found it is becoming a very big factor in their choice of alma mater. Article resource:25 percent less income i r s payment delay.
Students make cost essential
There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a college. Obviously, academics should be the number one thing a person looks at when choosing a school, but it also has a lot to do with the Campus life. That involves all sporting events. People also consider distance from home and how much time they will have to spend to make trips home.
If one is considering a university that isn’t really co-ed, it’s also going to get pretty lonely.
When someone can get a degree for cheaper someplace else, it is essential to do that whenever possible, according to USA Today. A recent UCLA study was done showing that most students now consider the price of school when choosing a university.
Financial conditions matter
UCLA researchers polled almost 193,000 freshmen from 283 colleges, finding that 66.6 percent responded that economic conditions were an issue in their decision. The same study conducted two years back found 62.1 percent of respondents asserted that then.
The deciding factor was cost of attendance for 43.3 percent of respondents. The unaffordable price was cited by 13.4 percent while 9.5 percent said it had to do with a lack of financial aid.
Students should look at costs
It bloody well should be an issue in university selection. Those costs are going up. The College Board, according to the Wall Street Journal, found as of 2012 tuition has gone up by 13 percent since the 2007-2008 school year at non-profit private colleges, inflation-adjusted, but a whopping 27 percent at public universities.
About 86 percent of incoming freshman in 2011-2012 school year got some kind of grant, though most schools require freshman to take out fewer loans than seniors. Still, the actual cost paid per student only increased 18 percent at public colleges and actually dropped by 4 percent at private non-profits. Most universities are offering more financial aid.
Graduating into a world of hurt
The thing about college is that armed with a degree, one is that much more likely to stay in work their whole life. Joblessness is lower among university graduates, last year’s figure, according to the Huffington Post, was 4.4 percent, about two-thirds of the overall unemployment rate. Estimates for combined recent graduate unemployment and underemployment ranged as high as 53 percent, according to a 2012 article in the Atlantic.
A 2011 Project on Student Debt survey showed an average debt of around $26,000 and about two thirds of graduates having student loans, according to CNN.
With the bad unemployment rates and students having more debt, it makes sense that they would be more concerned with the cost of school.
Sources
USA Today
Wall Street Journal
Huffington Post