Jan. 20, 2026
Although higher education is intended to expand opportunities, its rising price tag often discourages students and limits their choices.
For low- and middle-income families, college tuition can be an insurmountable burden. According to the online loan marketplace Credible, in 2025, the average four-year in-state public college education cost about $123,960, and a four-year private college education ran approximately $261,880.
With the federal minimum wage at $7.25, a student would need to work over 80 hours per week, before factoring in taxes, to pay for their degree.
A future in which college is accessible to all is within reach.
Many students cannot rely on financial help from their parents, forcing them to take on multiple jobs just to afford tuition. This anxiety is intensified by recent reductions in Free Application for Federal Student Aid awards, which limit students’ eligibility for Pell Grants.
Pell eligibility now applies to students with a Student Aid Index, which is an index number based on the data a student submits in their FAFSA that colleges and universities use to determine a student’s financial situation and their financial aid qualification that equals or exceeds twice the amount of the maximum Pell award.
These pressures intensify in households with multiple college-age children, since, as of 2024, the FAFSA no longer increases students’ chances of receiving financial aid if they have a sibling in college.
For families that lack time to recover financially, students are pushed to enter the workforce earlier or take on longer shifts, limiting their ability to fully engage in the college experience or pursue their desired majors.
Fortunately, colleges, universities and governments can take steps to ease the financial strain on students and their families.
ILLUSTRATION BY MARIAH ALLEN
Eliminating application fees, as Caldwell University in Caldwell and Saint Peter’s University in Jersey City have done, or refunding students’ application fees if they are rejected, could help a lot.
Furthermore, colleges and universities could reduce administrative bloat, which is the rapid growth of non-teaching staff. According to an article published in the business magazine Forbes, administrative and professional staff at U.S. colleges and universities are growing far faster than faculty and student enrollment, with some schools employing multiple administrators for every professor. As a result, the salaries of these hires are passed on to students.
Policymakers can play their part as well by introducing bills that cap tuition at public post-secondary institutions, much like the one New Jersey lawmakers introduced in 2024.
Colleges and universities could also impose tuition freezes, like the one at the University of Connecticut, which will remain in effect for the upcoming school year, and the University of North Carolina, which froze its in-state tuition for nine consecutive years but will be increasing it by 3% for the 2026-2027 school year. Indiana public colleges and universities announced in November 2025 that they will also implement a tuition freeze for the next two school years.
A future in which college is accessible to all is within reach. By becoming more cost-effective, efficient and empathetic, colleges, universities and government entities can work toward an education system that opens doors, rather than closing them, ensuring access to higher education for every student.
