Part 8: Aug. 9, 2015
Political response to crushing college debt ratchets up
In Maine and across the nation, ideas flourish over an issue that will likely remain in the forefront through the 2016 election cycle.
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The ideas range from free tuition at public schools to making college expenses tax-deductible.
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Now a USM senior, she had to forgo Boston University and now is rethinking dental school plans.
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'You are always sacrificing something,' says the University of Maine junior.
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The Westbrook man wants to finally get his degree, but financial conditions are daunting.
Part 7: June 28, 2015
In many Maine households, parents shoulder high costs of college
Not having saved enough, they're working more, forgoing vacations, delaying retirement and dipping into home equity to spare their kids the burden of debt.
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'You don't have to be graduating with all this debt'
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'I just got thrown to the wolves when I got off campus'
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'We pulled money from different places and my parents helped'
Part 6: May 10, 2015
Gallery: 4 Photos
Hardest hit: College students who never finish school
So-called 'stranded learners' rack up mountains of debt but none of the financial promise that a degree might afford them. And in Maine, tens of thousands of them have strayed from their educational paths.
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'... unless you have a piece of paper ...'
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'I am going to be in debt for the rest of my life'
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'I'm fortunate my industry is OK'
Part 5: April 12, 2015
More students using community college to save money on a four-year college education
Wary of debt, students pursuing higher education turn to one option that can be practically free, where they can learn a technical trade or use the school as a steppingstone on the path to a four-year degree.
Part 4: March 22, 2015
College costs belie conventional wisdom
Students at public universities often end up with more debt than those at private schools. And the differences go beyond money, consultants say.
Part 3: February 8, 2015
Skyrocketing tuition: ‘Paying more … not getting more’
Expenses for maintaining infrastructure and administration can have an impact on the cost of higher education, but the biggest culprit remains the erosion in state funding.
Part 2: December 7, 2014
College choices face a financial reality check
Parents and students are rethinking everything about the college selection process as the decision becomes a cost-benefit analysis.
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The lending industry does have some unscrupulous players, but students also must become smart consumers.
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Part 1: October 12, 2014
Cost of higher education draining Mainers
Soaring student debt impacts the economy, with graduates putting off life investments as they struggle to repay loans.
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After World War II, the decades brought not only wider access to higher education but also new rationales for pursuing it.
The cost of college has far outpaced the rise in the cost of other life purchases over the last 20 years. Below are the sticker prices for public and private four-year universities, compared to the consumer price index, which measures the change in the price of consumer goods and services, median price of a home, the average cost of health care spending per household, the average cost of a new car and the median family income. All figures have been adjusted for inflation.
Over time, the state of Maine’s portion of the total cost for a full-time student at a four-year public university has gone down, while the percentage paid through tuition and fees has gone up. All figures have been adjusted for inflation.
EFC Estimator
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