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College
costs
are skyrocketing
What does college cost today? What will it
cost tomorrow? Brace yourself for a shock. The table below shows some
very real cost of attendance estimates for the 2006-2007
academic year. The costs were obtained directly from the websites of 4
schools. Search on the websites of the colleges you are interested
using
key phrases like "cost of attendance," to find out costs. (One of the
first things you will likely find is that these total cost estimates
are often hidden from plain sight. That's an acknowledgement that they
are scary
numbers!)
Note:
these costs are for one year. Costs for four years will
almost certainly exceed four times the one-year costs. This is because
each year college
costs increase. These costs are breathtaking. At this point, the total
cost for four years at many private
schools tops $200,000. There may be less expensive and more
expensive schools, but these are representative costs for colleges and
universities in the categories listed.
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Example
college
costs for 1 year and 4 years
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School
famous private university
small private university
small private college
famous state university (non-resident)
famous state university (in state)
smaller state university (non-resident)
smaller state university (in state) |
2010-2011
school year
$56,135.00
$53,742.00
$50,750.00
$52,582.00
$29,771.00
$34,672.00
$23,630.00
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4-year estimate*
$235,499
$225,160
$209,524
$249,668
$143,305
$144,950
$106,570
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Current data from
actual college/university websites.
*(Four-year estimate
based on the increase in costs these same schools
had from the previous year to this year.)
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But
wait, it gets worse!
The cost picture gets worse because more than half
of all college students today will take five or more years to
graduate. With costs going up each year, the fifth year will cost
15-20% more that the first year and therefore that fifth year may add
25-30% to the total cost of college.
What's a sports scholarship worth?
These high college costs mean that nearly all students will get some
kind of
financial aid. Athletes can receive amounts varying from "book money"
to a "full ride"
covering almost the entire cost of college tuition, room, board and
books. A full ride for some private schools is quickly approaching
$200,000 or more. Costs can be almost as high for out-of-state
students at some state universities. You may not receive a full ride,
but these days a partial scholarship is still important money.
Even if you do not receive athletic scholarship aid, college athletes
reap other significant benefits. Depending
on the school, these benefits can include priority in scheduling
classes, help with note taking, streamlined registration for courses,
tutoring help and more. The flip side of the equation is that athletes
put in a great deal of time and effort for their scholarship aid and
the other perks they receive.
The college athletes that are receiving significant scholarship aid
started out as
high school athletes who displayed talent. They became visible to
college coaches and they were recruited to play college sports. This
site and The Sports
Scholarship Handbook are about what you can do to help
yourself in the college sports recruiting game. At every stage of the
development of a high school athlete, from freshman year through senior
year, there are specific things you can do to improve your chances of
competing in college and of getting a college scholarship.
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