As acceptances roll in this year to LASA seniors, students must take a new aspect into consideration when choosing where to spend the next few years of college: the rising cost of tuition. Besides location, major, and student life, affordability is often an important consideration for making a college list as well as a key selling point for community colleges offering themselves as more affordable options to traditional four-year universities.
According to the Education Data Initiative, from 2010 to 2023, the average cost at public four-year institutions increased by 36.7%. The lack of affordable schools has caused students to consider more affordable options like public, in-state schools and community colleges. Moreover, since the early 2000s, tuition rates have risen due to reduced state funding, increasing administrative costs, and growing demand for specialized programs. LASA college counselor Vyasar Ganesan explained that over the past two decades, the cost of college has increased by 80% while scholarships and financial aid have only risen by 35%.
“The school I went to was Allegheny College, a small liberal arts college in Pennsylvania,” Ganesan said. “It cost around $40,000 to go to. I had a scholarship that was about $30,000, so that paid for three-fourths of my education, and I took out $10,000 in loans. Now, the cost of going to Allegheny College is nearly $80,000 a year, and the scholarship that I qualified for paid for three-fourths of my education at $30,000 a year, and isn’t even $40,000 right now.”
Many colleges are aware of the financial strain on families caused by increasing prices and have tried to adapt to different types of financial aid. Regardless, Ganesan believes the upward trend in tuition costs will continue into the near future.
“Colleges are not ignorant of how much they cost,” Ganesan said. “They’re very aware that there’s an affordability crisis in this country. They’re very aware that everyone’s concerned about how expensive things are getting. That being said, I do think we’re gonna see the cost of college go up.”
The price of college pushes students to options like in-state public schools. The price of schools out of state is more expensive due to the residents not paying taxes to that state, causing colleges to make the prices higher for those students. When choosing out-of-state schools, Senior Leo De Los Santos noted the limited number of options available to students for their budgets.
“I’m considering a few out-of-state schools, but the ones that I’m narrowing it down to are very similar to the in-state tuition,” De Los Santos said. “For instance, San Diego State is one of the cheaper California schools, and that’s the main reason I chose that over the other ones.”
For LASA students worried about taking on large amounts of debt, Austin Community College (ACC) offers a more affordable alternative. ACC launched its free tuition program in April 2024 for people in the Austin area attending the school starting in 2024 and graduating in 2029. Immediately after the program’s announcement, ACC reported a boost in enrollment. Ganesan discussed the benefits of choosing an option like ACC on top of the cost and namely mentioned the high transfer rate to the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin).
“ACC is probably the best community college in the South,” Ganesan said. “It guarantees that all of your credits will transfer to any school in Texas and transfer acceptance rates are much higher. LASA’s acceptance rate to UT Austin is around 30% if I’m looking at a 10-year average of data, but ACC has a 60% acceptance rate to UT Austin.”
However, community colleges have been subject to stigma due to peer and parental pressure, according to High School Insider. This can lead to fewer students taking advantage of their opportunities. Journee Coleman, a LASA alumna currently attending Texas State University, reflected on the social aspect of attending a prestigious school.
“ACC was something that my mom brought up with me,” Coleman said. “I regret it now, but I used to dismiss it because I didn’t want my friends to think I was stupid…I feel like it was the culture of LASA that created that mindset for me. But now, not being in high school for so long, I feel like it’s completely stupid. ACC’s a really good option, and I wish I would have considered it.”
