As college tuition prices continue to soar, many middle-class families find themselves caught in a financial dilemma. They earn too much to qualify for need-based financial aid but not enough to comfortably afford the high costs of higher education. In response, some colleges and universities are now focusing on targeting financial aid specifically towards middle-class families, attempting to ease the burden for those squeezed out of traditional support programs.
For Emily Kayser, a teacher touring Colby College in Maine with her son, the thought of paying for his education is daunting. “It’s very stressful,” she says, noting that the recent inflation in the cost of goods and services has made college expenses feel even more overwhelming. Kayser, like many in the middle class, does not qualify for substantial financial aid but also cannot afford to cover her son’s tuition without significant hardship. She jokingly ponders, “What can I sell?” to make ends meet.
The plight of middle-class families paying for college has been exacerbated in recent years. According to federal data, middle-income families have seen the net cost of a degree rise by 12 to 22 percent since 2009. In contrast, lower-income families have experienced only about a 1 percent increase during the same period. This disparity has left many middle-class families in a difficult position, struggling to justify the high costs of private universities, which are often seen as a better fit for their children.
To address this issue, several private, nonprofit institutions have introduced financial aid programs aimed at middle-income families. These initiatives are designed to lure back students who might otherwise choose more affordable public universities. David Greene, the president of Colby College, acknowledges the problem, saying, “This is a group, particularly in private colleges, where it just does not make sense to them, in many cases, to send their children to the colleges and universities that might be the best fit.”
Colby College, for instance, has announced a new program to cap tuition, room, and board costs at $10,000 a year for families earning up to $100,000 and $15,000 for those earning between $100,000 and $150,000. This is a significant reduction compared to the current net price of up to $53,000 for families in these income brackets after existing discounts and financial aid. The new initiative, which will take effect next fall, is part of the college’s broader strategy to simplify the financial aid process and make college more accessible to middle-class families.
For families like Kayser’s, this new program offers a much-needed sense of relief. Kayser describes the weight lifting off her shoulders when she heard about Colby’s plan. The anxiety surrounding how to pay for college is widespread among middle-class families, many of whom feel left out of the financial aid process. Pew Research Center data shows that the proportion of students from middle-income families on U.S. college campuses has been declining, falling from 45 percent in 1996 to 37 percent in 2016.
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This drop is concerning for colleges, which rely on middle-income families to make up a significant portion of their student bodies. As Jinann Bitar, director of higher education research at The Education Trust, explains, “That group of students is their bread and butter.” Colleges are increasingly recognizing the need to appeal to middle-income families, as enrollment overall has been declining for the past decade.
Other institutions are also taking steps to support middle-class families. Rice University in Houston has launched a program that provides full-tuition scholarships to undergraduates from families earning between $75,000 and $140,000. Liberty University in Virginia introduced a “Middle America Scholarship” offering up to $6,395 this year for families earning between $35,000 and $95,000. Grinnell College in Iowa has begun offering scholarships aimed at helping middle-income families who feel frustrated by financial aid calculations that overestimate what they can afford.
Despite these efforts, some advocates caution that colleges must balance their support for middle-income families with continued aid for lower-income students. Diane Cheng, vice president of research at the Institute for Higher Education Policy, warns that “institutions typically have limited resources for providing financial aid,” and it is crucial not to neglect students from low-income backgrounds.
Nevertheless, targeting middle-class families with designated financial aid programs appears to be working. Colleges that have implemented these strategies are seeing an increase in applications and enrollment, ensuring that middle-income students remain a vital part of their student populations. As more institutions focus on this issue, the hope is that middle-class families will find relief from the growing financial pressures of college tuition.
