Obtaining a superior SAT/ACT score can be the “greatest part-time job any High School student can have”. In our experience, at College Assistance Plus, we have seen increases in SAT scores translate directly into thousands of dollars of additional grants and scholarships. When multiplied by four + years of college attendance, the four hour test [...]

Forty-two colleges are now over $50,000 per year (room, board and tuition) and in 2004 there were only two colleges which cost more than $40,000 per year! The dark side of this picture is that currently there are 30 million federally-backed student loans with a combined total of $500 billion, and these loans are not collateralized or dischargeable through bankruptcy!

In the last month, I have received grave letters of concern from the president’s of two VERY prestigious institutions. In a nutshell, both schools were extremely alarmed about the impact the nation’s deteriorating fiscal condition has had on their school’s endowment. Both administrators alluded to 20%+ decreases in their billion dollar endowments, which will necessitate “significant reductions” in financial aid to student families.

Sallie Mae and the Gallup Polling Organization recently released the results of a survey entitled “How America Pays for College.” The survey was conducted during the 2007-2008 academic year and questioned 684 students and 720 parents of traditional-aged undergraduates.

With gasoline prices increasing by 33% in the last 12 months, it appears that a 5% annual tuition increase is equitable. What is not factored in is that private college tuition prices have increased 375% in the last 25 years, while housing is up 124% and medical care is up 223%. What is driving these astronomical college price increases?