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eof [soylentnews.org] writes:

At the NPR site is the article What You'll Actually Pay At 1,550 Colleges [npr.org] which provides some idea of what current students pay to attend their college. The data were taken from the information gathered by the Department of Education for the College Scorecard [ed.gov]. The data reflect students who received federal aid; the net price appears to be after taking into account non-loan aid.

The data show:

There are significant differences between what students from low income and high income families pay, particularly at elite private universities. The school where that difference is the greatest is Amherst College. The cost of attendance (including tuition, fees, books, etc.) for students in the lowest income tier (with a family income of less than $30,000) is only $2,000, but for students in the highest tier (over $110,000), the cost is $40,000. Amherst is among the top 50 schools that emphasize upward mobility [npr.org], and this pricing structure reflects that.

The cost curve for public universities is flatter. Public colleges don't offer steep discounts for low-income families. What this means is that public colleges can actually be the more expensive option, particularly if a student's family is low-income. But overall, the typical public school is still cheaper than the typical private school.

At private universities, almost no one pays full price. Even at the high end of the income spectrum, the net price is significantly less than the sticker price. It's the opposite at public schools. In public schools, net price often meets sticker price at the high end.

Of course the numbers are just a guide. One caveat is mentioned: the numbers are for people who have enrolled. Some of these students may have been targeted by the schools and offered more generous financial aid packages.

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