Four-year college degrees have gotten pricier according to a College Board report that tracks trends in college pricing and student aid.
Average tuition and fees rose to $10,560 for in-state students at four-year public colleges, an increase of $120 over last year. Students at four-year private institutions are set to pay an average of $37,650 — $770 dollars more than in the 2019-2020 school year.
Add to that room, board, and other expenses, and college can cost up to $70,000 per year, CNBC calculated.
Elite universities such as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, for example, come with steep costs — tuition, housing, and other expenses add up to nearly $73,000.
With student loan debt increasing and the coronavirus pandemic, soaring college costs are proving to be even more burdensome for middle and low-income families.
Student debt is holding back millions from being able to build the financial resources needed to rent apartments, buy homes, build their futures
President-elect Biden can #CancelStudentDebt on Day 1 and provide much-needed relief to struggling people and families in this crisis pic.twitter.com/09OVM4Is0z
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 7, 2020
Colleges Requesting Tuition During COVID
Since campuses shut down and classes moved online, students were unwilling to pay for housing and meal plans this year. Some even protested against full tuition.
A number of colleges — requesting students to pay fees for resources they could not use after campuses closed — faced class-action lawsuits. The University of Delaware, for instance, is subject of lawsuit for failing to adequately repay students when in-person classes were canceled.
In another case, a Princeton University student filed a class-action lawsuit against the school for charging full tuition and fees despite classes being online.
Despite reduced services, the cost of education continues to rise unabated, causing increased difficulty for both colleges and families.
In a move meant to address this rising problem, President-elect Joe Biden said he would forgive $10,000 in student debt for all borrowers. The incoming administration also proposes to make public colleges and universities tuition-free for families earning less than $125,000.
