“You pay your share, we’ll pay our share”: The college cost burden and the role of race, income, and college assets

Changes in financial aid policies raise questions about students being asked to pay too much for college and whether parents’ college savings for their children helps reduce the burden on students to pay for college. Using trivariate probit analysis with predicted probabilities, in this exploratory study we find recent changes in the financial aid system place a higher responsibility on African American, Latino/Hispanic, and moderate-income students to pay for college themselves. We also find when parents open a savings account, start a state-sponsored savings plan, or open a college investment fund students are less likely to pay for college with student contributions. Therefore, we suggest in addition to grants and scholarships, policies that encourage accumulation of savings for college among minority and lower income families may help reduce the college cost burden they experience.

► Are students more likely than society to bear responsibility of paying for college? ► We investigate the question using data from the Educational Longitudinal Study. ► Minority and lower-income students face a higher college cost burden. ► Some types of parents’ assets reduce the college cost burden on students. ► Policies are needed to increase parents’ college assets for their children.