As is the case with everything else the cost of college education has gone up considerably. Increases in tuition fees in excess of 6% per year are commonly seen now. For instance, back in 1973 the price of registration at UCLA (University of California) was about $200 per quarter while now it is well over $2,000 per quarter.

A tenfold increase in cost is not too unusual and lots of things now cost ten times more than they did 25 years ago. Salaries, by contrast have increased roughly three times in this same time period from in the region of $15,000 - $30,000 a year to around $39,000 - $42,000 per year. These figures vary by age, gender and a great deal more but as a rough guide a three times increase is about right.

However it is not all gloom and doom. There are far more types of financial assistance available nowadays to parents and students than ever before. As its name implies, financial assistance is money that parents and students receive from grants, loans and scholarships issued by both Federal and private lenders to aid students in paying for their college education.

A few years ago, students could depend almost entirely on Pell grants and Stafford loans to finance the cost of their education and living expenses. Nowadays Pell grants are still issued but they are needs based and meet a small proportion of college costs today. Stafford loans are similarly needs based but can range from 25% to 40% of the average cost of school today. Another type of financial aid is Perkins loans that are similar to Stafford loans but which are issued only to the lowest income families.

Fortunately, PLUS loans are also available these days and these were not around a few years ago. These are loans given to parents rather than students to help parents in paying for their child's education. Interest rates for PLUS loans are reasonable and there are certain restrictions and fees to pay but they often form part of the student's total package of funding.

A word to the wise about fees. Most loans are for a specific amount like $6,000 per year to be disbursed in several payments (typically once per semester). However it's not uncommon for fees of up to 4% to be taken from the loan amount before the funds are distributed. That 4% fee on your $6,000 equals $240 that you will never see but which you must repay. When you are searching for a loan make sure that you do your homework and look for a low or no-fee loan.

Although Federal loan programs such as the subsidized Stafford loan program levy low fees and interest is paid by the government, they are certainly not the only type of financial assistance nowadays and are not always the best choice.

Meeting the cost of education nowadays is a complicated undertaking and the majority of students will need to assemble a funding package which includes scholarships, grants for college, Federal loans and private student education loans.

Fortunately, there are now far more funding options available than we have seen for a very long time and market competition from private lenders especially means that it is possible to obtain funds at a price which is not going to break the bank.

It is also lucky that you live in an age where getting hold of the information that you need to make wise decisions about the choices which are open to you is also quite easy.