Post-secondary education costs tough for poor

In 1990, a poor family would have had to divert its total income for 981 days to pay for tuition, textbooks, tax breaks, and living expenses for a four-year degree. That figure has jumped to 1,268 days, according to a study released Wednesday.

The Toronto Star:

While a poor family has to spend 1,268 days of income to pay for a child’s university degree, a rich family only has to kick in 137 days of income, a new policy institute analysis reveals.

Skyrocketing tuition and stagnating incomes for all but the very rich have dramatically increased university costs in the past decade, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives said in a study, “Under Pressure: The Impact of Rising Tuition Fees on Ontario Families,” released Wednesday.

In 1990, a poor family would have had to divert its total income for 981 days to pay for tuition, textbooks, tax breaks, and living expenses for a four-year degree. A rich family would have had to divert only 135 days of total income.

The income-to-tuition gap sapped middle-income families, as well, the study said.

The institute divided household income into five tiers: about $150,000, about $80,000, about $55,000, about $33,000, and about $15,000 as average after-tax income.

The money needed to pay for a university degree jumped by 32 days for the second tier, 47 days for the third, and 99 days for the fourth.

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