The cost of college continues to creep higher and higher – and financial aid isn’t keeping up.
More Texans are receiving those hefty student loan bills in the mail after graduation, but is college still worth the investment?
Nonprofit online college WGU Texas took the temperature of how Texans are feeling about the state of higher education in their annual poll, which you can read here.
Josh Blank of Strategic Research Associates conducted the study, and he says most Texans are still on board with higher ed.
“89 percent of Texans said they would advise a high school senior to go to college,” he says. “95 percent of Texans say that having a degree or a certificate beyond high school is very important.
At the same time, he says that 90 percent of Texans say that student loan debt is a problem for them – 73 percent of Texans say it’s a major problem and another 17 percent say it’s a minor problem.
Blank says Texans feel that schools aren’t providing enough financial aid for students who want to pursue a higher degree.
“When we ask people whether Texas colleges and universities are providing enough financial aid to keep up, what we’ve noticed over time is that the percentage of people who say that have dropped – from 52 percent two years ago to 46 percent last year to 40 percent this year,” he says.
Blank says that 66 percent of Texans without a college degree say they haven’t pursued a higher degree because of the cost.
Written by Jen Rice.
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