WATERVILLE, Maine — Emily Kayser faces the daunting task of paying for her son’s college tuition on a teacher’s salary, describing it as “scary” and “very stressful.” She said, “I’m thinking, what can I sell?”
Kayser, while visiting Colby College with her son Matt, represents many Americans caught in the middle-income trap—earning too much to qualify for need-based aid, yet not enough to afford college expenses outright. This financial strain has intensified due to recent inflation affecting other goods and services.
“The cost of everything, from food to gas to living expenses, has become so high,” Kayser noted.
Middle-income families are disproportionately affected by rising college costs, with their net cost of a degree increasing by 12 to 22 percent since 2009, according to federal data.
In response, some private, nonprofit schools are offering financial aid specifically for middle-income families to compete with public universities. Colby College has launched a new program capping tuition, room, and board at $10,000 annually for families earning up to $100,000 and $15,000 for those earning between $100,000 and $150,000.
This initiative, backed by a $10 million alumni gift, contrasts with the current net price of about $53,000 for similar income brackets at Colby. The new pricing strategy aims to attract middle-income students who might otherwise feel excluded from private education.
“This is a group, particularly in private colleges, where it just does not make sense to them, in many cases, to send their children to the colleges and universities that might be the best fit,” said David Greene, Colby’s president.
The decline in middle-income students on campuses is concerning for universities, as they represent a significant portion of the potential student body. According to Pew Research, middle-income Americans make up 52 percent of the U.S. population, but their presence on college campuses fell from 45 percent in 1996 to 37 percent in 2016.
Colleges are now trying to simplify their financial aid systems to appeal to middle-income families. Colby’s approach involves showing prospective students the maximum costs based on family income, aiming to clarify the perceived complexity of tuition pricing.
Liberty University and Grinnell College are also offering targeted scholarships to middle-income families, addressing the affordability concerns that often deter these families from applying for financial aid.
“The value proposition of higher education relative to its cost is a huge question mark in the minds of many people,” Greene said, underscoring the need to better serve middle-income families who feel squeezed out of higher education opportunities.
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