There are heated policy debates about how to make college more affordable and ensure students aren’t shut out by high costs. But as Congress, the president and the presidential candidates argue how best to help – and families worry – some researchers point out that national averages blur some important information. There are enormous differences from state to state in college costs for two- and four-year colleges, for out-of-state-student tuition, grant aid and other variables, Sandy Baum and Martha Johnson of the Urban Institute report — and those have been changing in recent years. For example, while in-state students were charged an average of just over $9,000 nationally for a four-year public-college last year, students in Wyoming paid less than $5,000 a  year — and those in New Hampshire were charged nearly $15,000.

November 4, 2015 ・ From The Washington Post