Tuition and fees are rising, but the amount of merit-based aid is climbing even faster. AnnaMaria Andriotis discusses strategies for getting the largest possible award.joins the News Hub with Tanya Rivero. Photo: Getty Images.
With tuition and fees at a four-year private college or university averaging $30,094 a year, many students need help making ends meet. The good news is that scholarship money being handed out by corporations, foundations and other private-sector benefactors is on the rise.
That means families have new places to turn for assistance, even if they don’t qualify based on financial need. It also puts a growing premium on preparing early and researching the options for merit-based aid, which can be awarded on the basis of academic achievement, community service or special skills.
Undergraduates received $21.8 billion in merit aid for the 2011-12 academic year, the most recent term for which figures are available from the U.S. Department of Education, which releases figures every four years. That was up 64% from 2007-08, according to an analysis of the federal data by Edvisors.com, a financial-aid information website. Experts say the trend is continuing.
By contrast, tuition and fees rose 19% on average at private colleges and universities and 34% for in-state students at four-year public colleges over the same period, according to the College Board. In-state tuition and fees average $8,893 a year at four-year public schools.