A new survey shows that more than a quarter of students choosing not to go to college see the cost as prohibitive.
The survey by InvestEd found that more than 89% of Indiana residents see the value in education after high school, and more than three quarters of Hoosiers see college as necessary to meet the state’s future workforce needs.
However, most students do not know about the opportunities that they have for financial aid.
Less than 60% of Hoosiers have heard of financial aid opportunities like EARN Indiana, Next Level Jobs or the Frank O’Bannon Grant.
In 2022, little more than half of students pursued higher education after completing high school. Indiana Commissioner for Higher Education Chris Lowery says, “Indiana is committed to addressing our college enrollment crisis, and we know that giving Hoosiers the tools they need to understand financial aid option is a critical piece of that.”
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Vice President of marketing for InvestEd Bill Wozniak says that the cost of college may actually be much lower than most students think.
He says that there is a difference between the “sticker price” that parents see online and the “net price” that families may be eligible to pay based on their situation. He said, “When they then look at their net price as opposed to the sticker price, so often the family sort of takes a moment they take a breath, and they're like, Wow, now we really have to think about this.”
InvestEd is a non-profit financial aid advising and student loan organization. The nonprofit visits around 200 schools around the state every year providing information to parents and students about their options for paying for higher education. However, Wozniak says he regrets that there are still thousands of families that do not seek help.
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Indiana leads the Midwest in financial-aid opportunities and ranks as one of the most generous states in the nation for amounts of available need-based aid according to the 2022 College Costs and Financial Aid Report.