Church-affiliated schools are among the nation’s most expensive for low-income students.
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At Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., officials sometimes bring in low-income applicants and their families for counseling. The point of the sessions is not to encourage the students to attend, but to suggest they consider going somewhere cheaper.
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The university needs to spend its financial aid to attract ?higher-end students,? says W. Michael Hendricks, vice president for enrollment management ? the kind of high-achieving, wealthy students that can improve a school?s prestige and bolster its bottom line. And he says the school has another, seemingly paradoxical rationale for dissuading low-income students: its Catholic identity makes the university hesitant to burden low-income families with debt. ?It totally flies in the face of our mission,? Hendricks says.
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Despite such sentiment, Catholic University charges the highest net price in America for low-income students ? the cost once discounts and financial aid are taken into account ? according to a study by the New America Foundation based on information reported to the U.S. Department of Education by the institutions themselves. And they have plenty of company among peer institutions.
At a time of escalating worry over access to higher education, Catholic institutions are in the uncomfortable position of comprising five of the 10 most expensive private universities for low-income students, and 10 of the top 28, the study found.
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