The Price of Education

Here is some interesting data from collegeboard.org on the ever increasing cost of college tuition. The data is in constant dollars, so the increases from year to year are in real dollar terms (adjusted for inflation). It's really amazing that the cost of tuition has almost tripled from 1980 to 2010. I feel sad for young people having to make the decision to incur large student loans, without fully realizing how it will effect them down the road. Most high school grads just haven't had enough life experience to understand the implications of their decisions in this area. That being said, one still has to wonder at what point does it become cost prohibitive to pursue a college education? (please forgive the formatting, I was having major problems making it presentable).


TABLE 4: Average Published Tuition and Fees in Constant 2010 Dollars, 1980-81 to 2010-11 (Enrollment-Weighted)

Academic---Private
Year----------Noprofit----------Public-------------Public
----------------4Year--------------4Year-------------2 Year
2010-11---$27,293--3.2%---$7,605--6.6%---$2,713--4.8%
2009-10---$26,452--6.0%---$7,137--9.3%---$2,590--10.2%
2008-09---$24,953--0.4%---$6,532--0.8%---$2,351--2.1%
2007-08---$24,852--4.0%---$6,480--4.2%---$2,401--1.1%
2006-07---$23,899--2.1%---$6,218--1.5%---$2,428--0.3%
2005-06---$23,408--1.5%---$6,128--3.9%---$2,434--1.7%
2004-05---$23,073--2.7%---$5,900--7.2%---$2,393--5.7%
2003-04---$22,465--2.8%---$5,507--11.0%---$2,263--11.7%
2002-03---$21,862--2.4%---$4,961--7.2%---$2,026--2.6%
2001-02---$21,343--5.3%---$4,626--4.5%---$1,975--4.7%
2000-01---$20,277--0.1%---$4,426--.7%---$2,072--3.9%
1999-00---$20,295--3.3%---$4,397--1.4%---$2,157--3.9%
1998-99---$19,649--4.9%---$4,338--2.6%---$2,076--2.5%
1997-98---$18,724--3.8%---$4,226--2.3%---$2,128--4.6%
1996-97---$18,044--3.3%---$4,131--2.8%---$2,034--7.0%
1995-96---$17,464--1.4%---$4,019--1.1%---$1,901--1.2%
1994-95---$17,216--3.6%---$3,974--3.8%---$1,924--2.4%
1993-94---$16,618--2.5%---$3,827--5.7%---$1,880--8.5%
1992-93---$16,212--3.2%---$3,622--7.4%---$1,732 --7.6%
1991-92---$15,706--0.6%---$3,373--5.7%---$1,874--23.7%
1990-91---$15,615-- 2.9%---$3,190--7.3%---$1,515--2.8%
1989-90---$15,182--3.1%---$2,972--2.4%---$1,474--0.3%
1988-89---$14,725--9.1%---$2,903--2.0%---$1,470--3.8%
1987-88---$13,502--1.9%---$2,845--1.1%---$1,416--7.7%
1986-87---$13,256--7.1%---$2,815--5.6%---$1,314--1.4%
1985-86---$12,379--6.4%---$2,665--3.6%---$1,296--6.0%
1984-85---$11,636--4.7%---$2,572--2.7%---$1,223--6.1%
1983-84---$11,114--7.1%---$2,505--8.7%---$1,152--8.9%
1982-83---$10,373--6.0%---$2,305--6.6%---$1,058--2.4%
1981-82---$9,789--2.7%---$2,163--2.1%---$1,033--0.2%
1980-81---$9,535----------$2,119----------$1,031

Sources: 1987-88 and after: Annual Survey of Colleges, the College Board, weighted by full-time undergraduate enrollment; 1986-87 and prior: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, weighted by full-time equivalent enrollment.
This table was prepared in October 2010.