College Is Unaffordable For Parenting Students In All 50 States

A college education has become increasingly unaffordable for many students. New research shows that for students with children, the problem is even worse.

Approximately one out of every five students in higher education is a parent, many with young children requiring childcare while their parent is working towards a degree or other credential. Parenting students trying to get a college degree are doing exactly what society says they should do—improve their job prospects and support their families. But the high price of college combined with the high cost of childcare is a massive barrier to higher education success for most parenting students.

A new report, co-authored by Education Trust and Generation Hope, assessed college affordability for parenting students across all 50 states.

The report looks at what the authors dub the “affordability gap” to determine whether college is affordable or not in each state. They define this metric as the difference between the price of college after grants, scholarships, and ten hours a week of working at the state minimum wage. Loans are no included in the calculation. Since the report focuses on parenting students, the cost of childcare is included in the college price calculations, along with tuition and fees, housing and food, books, transportation, and a limited allowance for personal expenses.

Read the full article here.