GOOD NEWS ABOUT PAYING FOR COLLEGE

Tuition hikes are slowing as schools brace for declining enrollment. But college is still a major investment. Here's how to prepare no matter your child's age.

- LISA GERSTNER

Make no mistake: Paying for college is a significant undertaking for many families. For the 2022–23 academic year, the average estimated budget for an undergraduate in a four-year program was $27,940 at an in-state public university, $45,240 for an out-of-state public university and $57,570 for a private university, according to the College Board (estimates include tuition, fees, room and board, books and supplies, transportation, and other personal expenses). 

But following decades of tuition increases that outpaced inflation, a confluence of factors has curbed growth in the cost of higher education. After adjusting for recent high inflation, average tuition and fees fell in the 2021–22 and 2022–23 academic years. To provide relief from the financial effects of the pandemic and soaring inflation and to attract students as enrollments decline-some institutions have frozen tuition. For example, four-year public institutions in New Hampshire are freezing tuition for in-state students for the 2023-24 academic year (marking the fifth consecutive year of freezes), and the University of Vermont is doing the same for all its students.