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Research

Too Few Americans Graduate from College

Facts and impacts of rising college costs

Low graduation rates
Only 32% of Americans have a bachelor’s degree (U.S. Census, 2014)

Low-income families are disproportionately impacted
Only 8% of low-income students (bottom 25%) graduate from college by age 24 (Mortenson, Post Secondary Opportunity, 2012)

Costs are rising faster than inflation
Since 1978 college tuition and fees have increased by 1,224%, more than 4X the rate of inflation (Bloomberg News, 8/18/2014)

Students must borrow to attend
The average college graduate with a bachelor’s degree owes almost $30,000 in student loans (Miller, New America Foundation, 2014)

College seems unaffordable
77% of Americans “do not think that higher education is affordable to everyone who needs it” (Lumina Foundation 2013 public survey)

Debt discourages college attendance
Student loan debt reduces the chances that students enroll in college or graduate from college (Dynerski 2003; Kim 2007; Perna 2008)