49 States Flunk College Affordability Test

College tuition has vaulted 439% since 1982, according to the groundbreaking Measuring Up 2008 study released this week by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education. This inordinate price tag is even adjusted for inflation!

What makes Measuring Up 2008 so cutting-edge is that researchers calculated college costs after factoring in financial aid through scholarships and grants.

Here are some other alarming trends: tuition at a four year public university costs low-income families 55% of their yearly income and 33% of the household revenue for lower middle class families. The Center suggests that a healthy level for tuition costs should be around 13% of a family's income.

CollegePlus! students have responded to the Measuring Up media outrbreak with their own stories. One student, an English major from Ohio, will complete her degree for just under $15,000 just one year after her high school graduation. Read her story here.

Will the media and the public take notice of CollegePlus! as an obvious solution to their higher education dilemma? That still remains to be seen.

Posted by Shawn Cohen