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As long as her parents can remember, 13-year-old Katie Hart has been talking about going to college. Her mother, Tally, a financial-aid officer at a California University, knows all too well the daunting thing of paying for a college education. Last year the average yearly tuition at a private, four-year school climbed 5.5 percent to more than $17,000. The Harts have started saving, and figure they can afford a public university without a problem. But what if Katie applies to Princeton (she's threatening), where one year's tuition, room and board-almost $ 34, 000 in 2007-will cost more than some luxury cars? Even a number cruncher like Tally admits it' s a little scary, especially since she'll retire and Katie will go to college at around the same time.
Paying for college has always been a hard endeavor. The good news: last year students collected $ 74 billion in financial aid, the most ever. Most families pay less than full freight. Sixty percent of public-university students and three quarters of those at private colleges receive some form of financial aid--mostly, these days, in the form of loans. But those numbers are not as encouraging as they appear for lower-income families, because schools are changing their formulas for distributing aid. Eager to boost their magazine rankings, which are based in part on the test scores of entering freshmen, they' re throwing more aid at smarter kids--whether they need it or not.
The best way to prepare is to start saving early. A new law passed last year makes that easier for some families. So-called 529 plans allow parents to sock away funds in federal-tax-free-investment accounts, as long as the money
is used for "qualified education expenses" like tuition, room and board. The plans aren' t for everyone. For tax reasons, some lower and middle income families may be better off choosing other investments. But saving is vital. When' s the best time to start? "Sometime, " says Jack Joyoe of the College Board, "between the maternity ward and middle school. "
Aid packages usually come in some combination of grants, loans and jobs. These days 60 percent of all aid comes in the form of low-interest loans. All students are eligible for "unsubsidized" federal Stafford loans, which let them defer interest payments until after graduation. Students who can demonstrate need can also qualify for federal Perkins loans or "subsidized" Staffords, where the government pays the interest during school. Fortunately, this is a borrower' s market. "Interest rates are at their lowest level in the history of student loans, " says Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Finaid. Kantrowitz expects rates to fall even further when they' re reviewed this summer.
Traditional scholarships, academic or athletic, are still a part of many families' planning. Mack Reiter, a 17-year-old national wrestling champion, gets so many recruiting letters he throws most away. He' ll almost certainly get a free ride. Without it, "we would really be in a bind, " says his mother, Janet. For everyone else, it' s worth the effort to pick through local and national scholarship offerings, which can be found on Web sites like college-board, com.
What does the author intend to illustrate with the example of the Harts? A．The difficulty of paying the tuition.
B．The far-sight of the parents.
C．The promising future of Katie.
D．The increasing tuition in the university.
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