{"id":2648184,"date":"2026-08-22T06:56:02","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T10:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/college-costs-surge-10-higher-than-last-year-new-report-shows\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T06:58:59","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T10:58:59","slug":"college-costs-surge-10-higher-than-last-year-new-report-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/college-costs-surge-10-higher-than-last-year-new-report-shows\/","title":{"rendered":"College Costs Surge 10% Higher Than Last Year, New Report Shows\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcollege-costs-surge-10-higher-than-last-year-new-report-shows%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2648184&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses the significant rise in U.S. higher education costs, which have increased by 10% for the 2025-26 academic year, reaching an estimated $34,019 per family. This total accounts for expenses beyond tuition, including books, technology, housing, and travel. Families are paying nearly half of these costs out of pocket, and many decide on colleges based primarily on price, with 79% considering affordability earlier in their decision process. Despite higher expenditures, most families feel confident about how they finance college, though misconceptions about scholarships and financial aid opportunities may lead to missed savings. The report highlights that increased administrative costs, staffing, facilities, and demand contribute to rising prices. Experts and policymakers, like senator Tim Scott, criticize the system as &#8220;broken,&#8221; citing declining value of degrees and rising costs. The data was collected thru surveys of students and parents by Ipsos and Sallie Mae, the largest private student lender in the U.S.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>U.S. higher education costs have surged over the past year, according to a Sallie Mae\/Ipsos report out Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The new report found that total college costs for families climbed to an estimated $34,019 during the 2025-26 academic year, marking a 10% rise from the year prior, Higher Ed Dive <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.highereddive.com\/news\/college-costs-for-families-up-10-from-last-year-poll-finds\/827623\/\">reported<\/a>. Meanwhile, U.S. families had to pay out of pocket for 49% of those education costs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">A Sallie Mae spokesperson told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the new report \u201cfinds that college spending rose but that\u2019s not necessarily a function of higher tuition alone.\u201d The spokesperson added that the $34,019 total spent during the 2025-26 academic year \u201cincludes every dollar used towards higher education last year which is everything from tuition and fees to books, technology, meals, housing, travel, and other related expenses.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The poll also shows that price was a key factor for students selecting a college, Higher Ed Dive reported. Of families surveyed, 79% counted out colleges \u201cat multiple stages\u201d while making decisions due to their total price.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cFamilies reported spending more for higher education and eight in 10 also say they are confident in how they paid for it, even if that meant stretching financially to get there,\u201d Sallie Mae spokesperson Rick Castellano told the DCNF in a statement. \u201cThat said, a little more than half of families (52%), reported paying less than the full advertised sticker price for school. At the same time, misconceptions about scholarships and the FAFSA could mean families are missing out on opportunities to make college more affordable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">The report\u2019s release comes after other recent polling has suggested that many Americans think U.S. colleges are not doing a sufficient enough job of preparing students to enter the workforce and believe higher education has become unaffordable.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, some major drivers of surging college costs across the nation include administrative expansion, increased staffing levels, a rise in non-instructional spending, campus facilities being expanded and overall heightened demand for higher education, <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/ace.edu\/blog\/why-is-college-so-expensive-how-ace-breaks-the-trend\/\">according<\/a> to the American College of Education.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott asserted in a June 12, 2025 X <a class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__link\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SenatorTimScott\/status\/1933178792962351127\">post<\/a> that the U.S. higher education system \u201cis broken.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">\u201cAmericans are paying rising costs for college, while the value of their degrees continues to plummet,\u201d Scott continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Sallie Mae, officially known as the SLM Corporation, is a publicly traded bank that is the largest lender of private student loans in the U.S.<\/p>\n<p class=\"LexicalEditorTheme__paragraph\">Ipsos surveyed 1,000 undergraduate students aged 18-24 and 1,000 parents of traditional-age undergraduate students via an online survey conducted between late April and late May.<\/p>\n<div class=\"disclaimer\">\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter\u2019s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact <a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]] = document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display = 'block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src = firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id'] = firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting = jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display = 'none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display = 'block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/body><\/html><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. college costs rose 10% to $34,019 for 2025-26, says Sallie Mae\/Ipsos<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2648185,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1425.jpeg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[84528,32189,45309],"class_list":["post-2648184","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-college-costs-2","tag-higher-education","tag-tuition-increase"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_1425.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648184","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2648184"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648184\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2648188,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2648184\/revisions\/2648188"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2648185"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2648184"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2648184"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2648184"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}