take KARE of your MONEY: The Cost of Private College

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A tent city sprouted like early summer mushrooms around Carleton College in late June. Since there are no summer classes on the Northfield campus, the billowing white nylon was to shelter the school's visiting alumni. Those tents have a lot to do with the weathering the cost of earning a Carleton degree.

"It's definitely significant."

Carleton "rising" senior (meaning a senior in the fall of 2009) Steve Merry admits tuition and fees are high. "I don't think Carleton tries to argue that it's not." The Mahtomedi, Minnesota native is correct. The cost is prominently featured on the school's website. Still, the 133 year old Liberal Arts College is hardly begging for scholars.

Rising sophomore Beserat Kilati of Houston, Texas, found the average class size of 18 attractive along with a teaching ratio of just 9 students per instructor. Still, cash for college is a consideration. "I applied to about 11 colleges. So, the cost is really important to me and my family. Also, I had to consider my younger sister. She's only a year below me."

Rising Junior Kai Knutson of Bloomington, Minnesota shared Kilati's concerns. "I know that when I was applying to colleges that was something that was really important in my consideration. I looked at schools all over the nation."

The cost of attending Carleton is $50,000 for the 2009-2010 academic year. Tuition is $37,000+. Added to that is the cost of fees and room and board. The student population is fewer than 2,000. About 55% get some form of student aid. Knutson explains that there is no stigma attached to aid recipients, whatever their need. "People don't talk about what kind of aid they're 'on' at Carleton. It's understood that people come from very different economic backgrounds here, but no one says, for instance, 'I'm paying this much for this trimester here' or 'I'm receiving this much aid.' I think it varies widely from students receiving, maybe, a couple of thousand dollars to students receiving tens of thousands."

The surprise for many applicants comparing state and private schools is the difference in need-based aid that can be offered. In most cases, the more expensive private institutions win hands-down. Besting the state schools on the financial aid front is keeping caps and gowns hopefuls coming to highly regarded schools like Carleton across the country. Houston, Texas native Kelati is matriculating in Minnesota's cooler climes because of a warmer financial welcome at Carleton. "The State University that I was planning to go to didn't give me any financial aid. A lot of the private liberal arts colleges provided me with the best financial aid. I decided to come to Carleton because it was one of the best that I had received."

Senior Merry's story echoes many. He had considered less expensive public institutions. "With the U of M probably being the low-cost decision until I found out my financial aid package from Carleton, which brought it right down to the level of the state colleges."

Knutson says there are the usual other methods of making up the shortfall in college-offered aid. "There's the expectation that students may be bringing other scholarships in. They're almost certainly taking out student loans. They're working on-campus jobs (work-study) as well."

For Admissions officials at admittedly expensive schools like Carleton, there is a perception problem. Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Jennifer Hantho hopes applicants will understand that there is help available. "We're fortunate at a place like Carleton, and many of the schools nationally, to have very strong financial aid programs."

All parents of College-bound students are aware of the dreaded FAFSA (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid). The laborious document is the basis for all student aid at U.S. colleges and universities. Income limits for FAFSA-based aid often exclude even moderate income families. Some private Minnesota schools, however, including Carleton, have a second aid application that takes the school's desire for diversity and academic environment into consideration. That broadens the possibility of greater financial help.

The average aid package for a Carleton student receiving aid is more than $33,000. Much of that aid can be in form of "grants" which do not have to be repaid. Hantho says the average grant is upwards of $25,000. "The aid money comes from endowments at colleges and universities. It comes from the trustees and senior administration. The budget planning makes decisions to provide financial aid resources for students. We have many alumni and friends of the college that give us money specifically for the financial aid program."

Under those white tents, the Carleton alumni bring their memories and their checkbooks.

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