Rising prices push
college out of reach

AUSTIN (KXAN) - More Texans than ever before are attending college, but it is coming at a cost. According to a report issued this week, Texans have to spend a greater share of the family budget to cover higher education. And, in Texas, enrollment levels still lag behind national averages, which is blamed on both income barriers and high school graduation rates.

Statistics show that families with an income in the lowest 40 percent -- the working poor -- now have to spend 30 percent of their family budget to pay for college.

Of the 50,000 students at the University of Texas, 48 percent receive some form of financial aid: grants, scholarships or student loans. That is up by 5,000 students over the past decade, despite a relatively static enrollment totals.

UT students took out $220 million in loans last year, and those who do borrow graduate with an average indebtedness of $21,000.

UT’s tuition rose 4.9 percent last year. That's actually slower than the national average of a 6.4 percent increase in tuition. Some lawmakers are now talking about freezing tuition for the next two years. They also want to make college textbooks more affordable.