In State Tuition Could Hit $20K in Washington

The Associated Press reports that tuition rates are climbing so fast in Washington State, they could reach $20K by 2019.

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - Washington tuition rates are rising at such a rapid clip that the cost of attending a top university is projected to surpass $20,000 per year for in-state students before the end of this decade.

Those numbers, produced as part of an actuarial analysis for the state's prepaid tuition program, mean that higher education rates may quadruple from 2004 to 2019. Supporters of the university system hope that the state can begin restoring at least some of the cuts to blunt those rising costs.

"We've reached a tipping point," said Democratic Rep. Reuven Carlyle. "We cannot allow tuition to substantially increase in the disproportionate fashion that it has."

Students at the University of Washington are preparing to pay $11,782 in this coming academic year, along with some additional fees not included in the prepaid tuition calculations, up about 15 percent from the year prior. Tuition at the state's most expensive university is projected to grow another 12 percent the year after, 10 percent in the following two years, 8 percent in the next year, followed by consistent 5.5 percent increases thereafter.

By the 2019-20 school year, tuition would be $20,249, plus additional fees.

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