Sixty Massachusetts private institutions, including Boston University, were declared unaffordable for a typical college-bound student, according to a study recently conducted by The Lumina Foundation For Education.
“None of Massachusetts’ 60 private institutions is accessible to college-qualified, dependent low-income students,” said Jerry Davis, vice president for research at the Lumina Foundation, in a written statement.
The study classified more than 2,800 colleges and universities in the 50 states and the District of Columbia according to their “accessibility.” Accessibility was partly defined by financial feasibility to a typical student seeking an undergraduate education.
According to the study, which is based on 1998 federal statistics on income, enrollment and financial aid, these results indicate a need to increase federal funding and financial aid.
“Student loans often make the difference in terms of college affordability for low-income students,” the statement reads.
Many students said though BU might seem unaffordable, they recognized the large costs involved in running a university.
“I totally think BU is unaffordable,” said Ivor Joseph, a sophomore in the College of General Studies. “I don’t think they provide enough options for alternative payment methods, but I also understand that universities need money.”
Dory Miksad, a sophomore in the College of Arts and Sciences, said some individual student costs are too expensive.
“Housing and the dining plan are very expensive,” Miksad said. “I am amazed every year by how much my books cost and how little I get back for them at the end of the year.”
Barbara Tornow, executive director of the Office of Financial Assistance, disagreed with the study’s findings, claiming the study was uninformative and unhelpful.
“The methodology of the study is flawed,” Tornow said. “There is not enough money in the country for low-income families, and the report contained false averages to determine its results.”
Tornow also stressed that studies such as the one done by the Lumina Foundation should not discourage low-income students from applying to BU.
“My biggest concern is that people from disadvantaged backgrounds will be discouraged,” Tornow said. “I think BU works incredibly hard to provide access to underprivileged students.”
BU spokesman Colin Riley agreed with Tornow and said BU consistently tries to meet the calculated financial need for students who are qualified for the University.
“We are very generous when it comes to financial assistance,” Riley said. “There are students here from every economic background.”
Rachel Clasen, a CAS sophomore, agreed with Riley’s point.
“I would not say that BU is unaffordable,” Clasen said. “I get a lot of financial aid.”
Riley stressed costs which might seem to make BU more unaffordable, such as the recent tuition increase, are necessary in order to cover the costs of running a large university.
“We do our very best to keep tuition increases as low as possible,” Riley said. “Tuition contributes to less than 50 percent of the cost of running this University.”
Riley also stressed that the average debt for a senior graduate after four years at BU is less than the tuition cost for one year, a statistic indicative of the University’s effort to help students afford the cost of attending BU.
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