A new report from the College Board reveals that, despite rising sticker prices (published tuition and fees) for full-time undergraduate students, the net price that students and their families pay after grant aid, even after adjusted for inflation, is lower than it was 10 years ago.
The College Board found that, “after adjusting for inflation, the average net tuition and fees paid by first-time full-time in-state students enrolled in public four-year institutions peaked in 2012-13 at $4,340 and declined to an estimated $2,480 in 2024-25.”
For first-time full-time students enrolled in private nonprofit four-year institutions, the average net tuition and fees “declined from $19,330 in 2006-07 to an estimated $16,510 in 2024-25.” The report also notes that, “On average, first-time full-time in-district students at public two-year colleges have been receiving enough grant aid to cover their tuition and fees since 2009-10.”
According to the report, students receive a variety of aid to make a college education affordable, including “grants, Federal Work-Study, federal loans, and federal tax benefits.” Colleges and universities themselves are significant sources of aid for students, accounting for “52% of all grant aid in 2023-24.” Student borrowing of federal loans also continues to decline – “federal loans per FTE [full-time equivalent] undergraduate student declined to $3,900 in 2023-24, from a peak of $7,250 (in 2023 dollars) in 2010-11,” the report said.
The report contradicts reigning public perceptions of steadily increasing college costs, which often discourage students from pursuing higher education and accessing the many benefits associated with a college degree. A report published by the American Enterprise Institute last year, for example, found that “four-year degrees continue to be associated with significant economic and noneconomic benefits for individuals and communities.” In fact, colleges continue to be a primary engine of social mobility in the United States.
According to another study published last year by the College Board, the median earnings for full-time, year-round workers aged 25 years or older who held a bachelor’s degree in 2021 were $73,300 compared to $44,300 for workers with only high school diplomas. The median earnings for workers went up further if they obtained advanced degrees. The report also found that “the unemployment rate for individuals age 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree has consistently been about half of the unemployment rate for high school graduates.” As Princeton University President and AAU Board Chair Christopher Eisgruber wrote in 2023, college is an “investment opportunity of a lifetime.”
Kritika Agarwal is senior editorial officer at AAU.