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Using research references and student perspectives, it highlights how unaccounted costs contribute to unmet need, student debt, and barriers to completion.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/unexpected-hurdles-unpacking-the-price-tag-of-college-affordability/586481/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/unexpected-hurdles-unpacking-the-price-tag-of-college-affordability/586481.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Quinn Holloway","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",7,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the central issue the report addresses about college costs?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"Rising tuition and broader cost-of-attendance expenses place college out of reach for some students, create barriers to completion, and increase student debt.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What does “cost of attendance” include besides tuition and fees?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"It includes tuition and fees and additional expenses such as transportation, room and board, study abroad, books, and miscellaneous supplies expenses.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"Why does the report emphasize estimating cost of attendance carefully?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"Careful calculations are necessary to avoid misinforming students about the true cost of college and unintentionally limiting the funding available to support them.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},586481,1792192049,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,106,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":102,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":103,"show_sort_weight":104,"slug":105},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":99,"preview_page_count":4},2336474466712,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","UNEXPECTED  \nHURDLES  \nUNPACKING THE PRICE TAG OF COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY  \nBy:  \nAmanda Assalone, Ph. D., DeShawn Preston, Ph. D., & Breanna McElroy, M.S. Ed  \n[www.SouthernEducation.org](www.SouthernEducation.org)  \nUNEXPECTED HURDLES:  \nUNPACKING THE PRICE TAG OF COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY  \nBy:  \nAmanda Assalone, Ph. D.,  \nDeShawn Preston, Ph. D., &  \nBreanna McElroy, M.S.Ed  \nACKNOWLEDGEMENTS  \nThe Southern Education Foundation would like to thank the Annie E. Casey Foundation for their generous support. We would also like to express our appreciation to the students who offered their personal perspectives on the challenges they have encountered while navigating the unexpected costs associated with attending college. We appreciate your willingness to share your time and insights, without which this initiative would not have been possible.  \n© 2018 Southern Education Foundation, Inc., Atlanta, Georgia. All rights reserved.  \nPrinted in the United States of America.  \nPortions of this work may be reproduced without permission, provided that acknowledgement is fully given to the Southern Education Foundation. Limited permission is also granted for larger portions to be reproduced by nonprofit and public agencies and institutions only, solely for non-commercial purposes so long as full acknowledgement to the Southern Education Foundation as the source is prominently given. Reproduction or storage in any electronic form for any commercial purpose is prohibited without the express written permission of the Southern Education Foundation.  \nSOUTHERN EDUCATION FOUNDATION  2  \nNATIONAL  \n 2-YEAR  \n 4-YEAR  \nTHE SOUTH  \n 2-YEAR  \n 4-YEAR  \nRISING COST OF TUITION  \nSources: College Board, Annual Survey of Colleges; NCES, IPEDS Fall 2015 Enrollment data. (College Board, 2018)  \nUNEXPECTED HURDLES  The rising cost of tuition puts college out of reach for some students, creates  \nbarriers to college completion, and increases student debt (College Board, 2017a; Hechinger Report, 2014) . When it comes to understanding the reason for the rising cost of tuition, researchers cannot seem to agree on a single cause. Some higher education critics attribute the rising cost to the increase in financial aid, the hiring of too many administrators, or the decrease in state allocations, whereas others attribute it to overpaid faculty and luxurious amenities like climbing walls (Wexler, 2016) . However, in the quest to understand increased tuition, there has been a lack of consideration of the role that cost of attendance plays in student debt and the additional need for financial assistance to attend and sustain enrollment at an institution of higher education.  \nSOUTHERN EDUCATION FOUNDATION  3  \nAccording to the Department of Education (Federal Student Aid Handbook, 2016), the cost of attendance is an estimate of a student’s educational expenses for the period of enrollment. Cost of attendance is not only as important to consider as tuition and fees (which are only one component of cost of attendance), but it serves as the cornerstone of establishing a student’s financial need. It sets a limit on the total financial aid that a student may receive from TEACH Grant, Campus-Based Programs,  \nWHAT IS INCLUDED IN THE COST  \nOF COLLEGE?  \n Tuition and fees  Transportation  Room and Board  Study Abroad  \n Books  Miscellaneous  \n Supplies Expenses  \nSOUTHERN EDUCATION FOUNDATION  4  \nand Direct/Indirect Plus Loans, and is one of the basic components of the Pell Grant calculation (Federal Student Aid Handbook, 2016) . For example, if the institution lists $8,224 as the tuition and fees, a student is likely to hit a financial ceiling due to unaccounted expenses such as books, lab equipment, health insurance, or other similar necessities. In clearly defining the cost of attendance, colleges include a more inclusive, though not completely exhaustive, list of the expenses not typically accounted for under the “fees” umbrella of “tuition and fees.”  \nCongress first defi","cbCaiiic6LVeRGME","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiiic6LVeRGME","pdf",15709454,24,"English","# Acknowledgements\n# Rising Cost of Tuition\n# What Is Included in the Cost of College?\n## Tuition and fees\n## Transportation\n## Room and Board\n## Study Abroad\n## Books\n## Miscellaneous Supplies Expenses\n# Understanding Cost of Attendance and Financial Need\n# Policy Brief Purpose","[{\"question\":\"What is the central issue the report addresses about college costs?\",\"answer\":\"Rising tuition and broader cost-of-attendance expenses place college out of reach for some students, create barriers to completion, and increase student debt.\"},{\"question\":\"What does “cost of attendance” include besides tuition and fees?\",\"answer\":\"It includes tuition and fees and additional expenses such as transportation, room and board, study abroad, books, and miscellaneous supplies expenses.\"},{\"question\":\"Why does the report emphasize estimating cost of attendance carefully?\",\"answer\":\"Careful calculations are necessary to avoid misinforming students about the true cost of college and unintentionally limiting the funding available to support them.\"}]","UNEXPECTED HURDLES - UNPACKING THE PRICE TAG OF COLLEGE AFFORDABILITY | PDF",1792058037]