College tuition and fees rise 6.6 pct.

[babylonsister]

College tuition and fees rise 6.6 pct.

By JUSTIN POPE
AP Education Writer
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AP Photo/Merrill Sherman
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Average tuition and fees at four-year public colleges rose 6.6 percent this year, again outstripping increases in financial aid and pushing students into more borrowing. Community colleges once again did the best job keeping the lid on prices.

In-state students at four-year public schools are paying $6,185 this year, up $381 from last year, according to the nonprofit College Board's annual survey of college costs, released Monday. At four-year private colleges, tuition and fees rose 6.3 percent to $23,712.

The published price is not the real price for many students. On average, accounting for grants and tax breaks, full-time students are actually paying $2,577 this year to attend four-year public universities. That's $209 more than last year.

However, even the net price is still rising much faster than overall inflation. The net price at public universities is $560 higher, in 2007 dollars, than a decade ago. The five years have seen prices rise 31 percent above and beyond the general inflation rate for other goods and services - the worst record on college prices of any five-year period covered by the survey dating back 30 years.

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/C/COLLEGE_COSTS?SITE=DCSAS&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

[baldguy]

1. America is a third-world country.

In other civilized countries, secondary education is subsidized by the govt - just like heath care. Evan a basket-case country like Cuba has a better education system than the US.

[KansDem]

2. Good thing my kid's not graduating high school for two more years...

...since I didn't get a raise this year!

:sarcasm:

[Bobbieo]

3. Tuition hikes are part of the plan to ensure only the rich

can afford a college education. What ever happened to the GI Bill? Is it still on the books or did Bush take that away, too?

[aikoaiko]

4. Tuition still free in GA at public colleges if you have a 3.0 gpa.

when you grad High school and continue your education in college.

Amazingly many students will not or cannot study well enough to keep those grades up.