College Tuition Increases Slow, but Government Aid Falls

Geography also plays an increasingly important role in college affordability, as states recover from the recession at different rates and set their higher-education subsidies at different levels. A full-time student paying in-state tuition at a public school in New Hampshire, for instance, is the beneficiary of $2,482 in state aid. Oil-rich Wyoming, meanwhile, subsidizes its schools with more than $15,000 a student.

Nicole Preucil, 23, hunched over a textbook on Tuesday afternoon on campus at University of Illinois at Chicago. The California native moved to Chicago for a two-year graduate program in social work and now plans to graduate in May with about $60,000 in loans.

“I think tuition is absolutely too much,” said Ms. Preucil, who works part time at Starbucks to cover living expenses. Her parents, one disabled and the other working at a retail store, don’t provide financial support. “I kind of didn’t realize how expensive it was going to be here.”

For her undergraduate degree at Sonoma State University, Ms. Preucil cobbled together scholarships and grants, worked part time and graduated with $10,000 in student loans. “I think about my loans, and I try to pay off my interest,” she said. “I think it will take a long time in my profession to pay it off.”

Article Appeared @http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303672404579152021987960980

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