Who Pays the Full Sticker Price for a College Education?

By Mark Kantrowitz on August 16, 2017

A quarter of college freshmen and 38 percent of all undergraduate students pay the full sticker price for their college education, based on an analysis of data from the 2015 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS).

Students are more likely to pay full price at public colleges, Ivy League colleges and the most selective colleges. Students are less likely to pay full price at southern colleges, small colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and less selective colleges. Higher income students are more likely to pay full price.

As this table shows, college students are about twice as likely to pay full price at a public four-year college as they are at a private, non-profit four-year college (28 percent and 13 percent of freshmen, respectively). Undergraduate students are much less likely to receive institutional grants at public, four-year colleges than at private, non-profit four-year colleges. The cost of attendance at a public, four-year college, however, tends to be lower than a private, non-profit four-year college, even with institutional grants reducing the net price.

The table demonstrates that college freshmen are less likely to pay full price than all undergraduate students. Many colleges practice front-loading of grants, where freshmen get more grants than upperclassmen.

This table shows that students at four-year colleges are less likely to pay full price than students at college that are two years or less, probably because many more students receive institutional grants.

This table shows that undergraduate students at public colleges are more likely to pay full price than students at private colleges. The reasons differ for private, non-profit colleges and private, for-profit colleges. Private, non-profit colleges give more institutional grants and private, for-profit colleges attract more students who are Federal Pell Grant recipients.

Although Ivy League institutions have generous no loans financial aid policies, this table shows that undergraduate students at these colleges are more likely to pay full price (48 percent) than students at public, four-year colleges (39 percent) and private, non-profit four-year colleges (23 percent). Ivy League institutions enroll fewer low-income students than other four-year colleges.

A similar result applies to the HYPSM colleges, as shown in this table.

The next table shows that students at colleges in the south are less likely to pay full price.

Students at HBCUs are about half as likely to pay full price as compared with students at other colleges and universities.

This table shows that students who enroll at smaller colleges are less likely to pay full price. This could be a consequence of institution size correlating with institution control. Public colleges tend to be larger than private, non-profit colleges.

The most selective colleges have more pricing power than less selective colleges. This table shows that the percentage of undergraduate students who pay full price generally decreases with increasing acceptance rates. The percentage of undergraduate students who pay full price seems to level off at colleges that accept 40 percent or more of applicants.

The percentage of undergraduate students who pay full price seems to be highest at the colleges that charge the lowest and highest tuition rates. Mid-price colleges that charge $20,000 to $39,999 in tuition and fees seem to have much fewer students paying full price because these colleges are more likely to award institutional grants.

The percentage of undergraduate students who pay full price, however, decreases as the net price increases because colleges that charge a higher net price are more likely to award students institutional grants as a discount on college costs.

This table shows that high-income students are more likely to pay full price than middle-income students and middle-income students are more likely to pay full price than low-income students. This table is based on data from the 2011-12 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:12). Low-income students are surprisingly less likely to receive institutional grants than middle and high-income students. They are less likely to pay full price, however, because they receive federal and state grants, as well as private scholarships.

The next table shows a similar result when the data is restricted to bachelor’s degree programs, so the differences by AGI are not necessarily a reflection of differences in enrollment patterns by income level.