College said costly for low-income students

A new study being released today on the skyrocketing cost of higher education says only five states have four-year public colleges that low-income students can afford without financial aid.

In a third of all states, low-income students need loans even to attend some two-year community colleges, the study found.

The findings of the year-old Lumina Foundation for Education have sparked sharp criticism from higher education groups.

The foundation rated nearly 3,000 colleges and universities, and said that while at least half the public four-year schools in 40 states are financially manageable for median-income students, those students often need loans.

Only Alaska, Arkansas, Hawaii, Kentucky and Wyoming offer four-year public colleges that are affordable to low-income people, it said.

Financial sacrifices

Critics complained that the study flies in the face of reality: 15 million people from all income levels attend college at two- and four-year schools.

They also charged that the study risks discouraging those who might benefit most from a college degree.

Lumina's vice president for research, Jerry Davis, said the study focuses on the hardships imposed by paying for college.

"We're saying students and families must make inordinate financial sacrifices to attend those schools," Davis said, and the struggle to afford college leads some to quit.

Davis said he had hoped that higher education officials would use the study to help secure more state and federal aid for students.

The study arrives as the recession is both driving up demand for college and the cost of attending, especially at state institutions where about 80 percent of college students are found.

The study used 1998 federal statistics on income, enrollment and financial aid, among other factors. It looked at four income groups: low- and median-income students still dependent on parents' income, and independent students ages 25-34 with low or median incomes.

Higher education groups said the study's methods were flawed and could put people off the idea of college or certain institutions.

"Enrollments go up every single year," said Terry Hartle of the American Council on Education. "If this is correct, there are a lot of people in higher education that aren't supposed to be there."