New research says that getting a college degree is both more expensive and more important than ever before, but Grant County’s middle-class families have a variety of options to soften the blow.
According to study by the Lumina Foundation and Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce, bad economic conditions have made getting a college degree a higher priority. Workers with high school degrees lost 5.8 million jobs between December 2007 and February 2012, while those with bachelor’s degrees gained 2.2 million.
A study from the University of Wisconsin, meanwhile, shows that middle-class families take on more college debt than any other group. Students from households earning between $40,000 and $99,000 annually graduate with $4,000 to $6,000 more debt than students with lower incomes.
Grant County students have embraced college attendance over the past three years. The percentage of public high school graduates pursuing further education has increased from 70.56 percent in 2010 to 77.13 percent in 2012, and the percentage of enrolled students who attend further school leaped from 58.21 percent in 2011 to 67.99 percent in 2012.
Of those students, many have traditionally attended Indiana Wesleyan and Taylor universities. Taylor is welcoming its largest freshman class ever this weekend, and Thomas Ratliff, associate vice president from financial aid at IWU, said enrollment continues to rise because getting even an expensive college degree remains a very worthwhile investment.
“We know that college costs have gone up, but the demands to get someone ready for the workplace have also done so exponentially in recent years,” he said. “We offer an extensive amount of both merit-based and financial-need-based gift aid in scholarships and grants to help families hit the target figures and keep college affordable. We’d prefer that students graduate with no debt, but that’s not always possible.
“There’s a lot of gift aid available at the federal and state levels for the highest financial-need students, and a little bit more merit aid goes to high-income families that have higher education backgrounds with the parents and a lot of support to encourage students to excel. The middle-income families are particularly getting stung.”
Gwen Bragg, guidance counselor at Madison-Grant High School, said she’s seen more and more families considering local alternatives that allow students to live at home, keep their part-time jobs from high school and save on tuition.
Bragg said of Madison-Grant’s 2012 graduating class, 59 percent chose to attend four-year institutions, and 30 percent of those students elected to go to a local school but continue living at home. Another 27 percent of the graduating class chose to attend a two-year school and potentially transfer to a four-year institution later. Ratliff said IWU works with students who pursue both options.
“Students are more open to Ivy Tech, which has really good options for transferring credits, or going to IUK (Indiana University at Kokomo), IPFW (Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne) or Ball State (University) three days per week and staying at home to work,” Bragg said.
Bragg said students can cut down college costs by aggressively pursuing scholarships and grants, taking dual-credit and credit-in-escrow courses at their local high school and finishing online coursework through local community colleges.
Cindy Fortney, financial advisor at Edward Jones in Marion, said middle-class families stand to benefit from 529 plans, which enable them to deposit savings for college tax-free and receive income tax credits. She advises families to start saving early, ask their prospective school about grants and consider low-cost schools nearby.
“I’ve seen families choosing lower-cost colleges or going into debt a little more than previous years, and I’m also seeing families preparing more because they see the cost is so astronomical. Parents are saving more and saving earlier because it’s an astronomical expense they’re dealing with,” Fortney said. “The earlier you start, the better it is for the child, because you can put more money away and with a 529 plan receive a credit up to $1,000 each year depending on the amount you contribute. The Indiana (529) College Plan is extremely popular.”
John Lightle, dean of Ivy Tech’s Marion campus, said he’s seen more students he would describe as middle-class in the halls over the past couple years, and he encourages students to consider all their options when choosing a college.
“For a lot of students a university is a good fit, but there’s a group that plan to go and after orientation have a ‘reality moment,’ that this is a lot more expensive that what they can afford,” he said. “The amount of debt being accumulated is a concern for all colleges, which is why we all encourage families to search what their options are and make the best decision for them.”