Sh*t Costs Too Much: College
Back-to-school bills are hitting a record $103.5 billion while Washington caps student borrowing and scraps the cheapest repayment plan on record — leaving families to pay more for a degree with worse options.
Sh*t Costs Too Much.
Fact sheet · August 2026
$103.5B
Record total college back-to-school spending for 2026 — nearly $15 billion more than a year ago
$674
New median monthly student loan payment, up from $110 under the SAVE plan
12%
Of Americans say four-year colleges provide an affordable education
Americans are paying more for everything these days, and a college education is no exception. Tuition, laptops, groceries, and the plane ticket home for Thanksgiving all cost more than they did a year ago. Federal tariffs have raised the price of imported goods, and the war in Iran has pushed fuel costs into every airfare and grocery bill. Washington has spent the year working the other side of the ledger, capping how much students and parents can borrow and scrapping the cheapest repayment plan on record. The bill for a degree keeps climbing while the federal tools built to make it manageable keep disappearing.
Key points
- Just 12% of Americans say four-year colleges are doing an excellent or good job providing an affordable education, while 63% say they are doing a poor job — across age, race, education, and party.
- College students and their families expect to spend a record $1,400+ this year, and total college back-to-school spending is hitting a record $103.5 billion for 2026 — jumping nearly $15 billion in just one year.
- Getting to campus and back is much more expensive this year: airfares are up 26.5% year-over-year and gasoline is up more than 40% since January nationally.
- The technology students rely on has gotten far more expensive — laptop prices are skyrocketing 15 to 40% across major brands, with base-model prices jumping and discounts few and far between. Students are budgeting about $800 for a laptop, even as the median price approaches $1,600.
- Software and accessories are up 17.4% over the past year — the steepest jump since the government began tracking the category in 1997.
- Starting this fall, college students are running into new federal borrowing limits and higher-cost loan plans: the new plan hikes monthly costs by 5x or more for millions, while new caps bar graduate students from borrowing more than $20,500 a year and $100,000 total — forcing students in high-cost programs to turn to private lenders.
Core drivers
Tariffs Are Raising the Cost of Campus Life
Tariffs imposed by the federal government took effect in late July and reach more than 99% of everything the country imports. Americans are absorbing 96% of the tariff burden, meaning the tax lands on every student buying imported laptops, textbooks, dorm supplies, clothes, and more.
War With Iran Is Skyrocketing Campus Travel Costs
Ever since the U.S. started a war with Iran and shuttered the Strait of Hormuz, fuel prices have gone through the roof. With gasoline sitting at over $4 a gallon nationwide, driving to and from campus is costing more this year. Meanwhile, flyers are getting hit just as hard as jet fuel prices skyrocket and airlines pass costs to passengers through higher fares and steeper baggage fees. Experts say airfares are not coming down.
The Federal Government Made College Harder To Pay For
Last July, the federal government passed a massive tax bill rewriting both how college students obtain loans and how graduates repay, setting hard ceilings on federal lending and abandoning the cheapest repayment plan on record. Now, families are forced to cover a larger share of rising tuition bills with fewer and worse borrowing options.
Abandoning the SAVE Plan Multiplies Monthly Bills For Millions
The federal government’s new repayment system is pushing roughly 7 million borrowers off of its cheapest option, with median monthly payments spiking from $110 under SAVE to $674 a month under the Standard plan. Half of departing SAVE borrowers are facing increases of $500 or more. Even under the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP), monthly costs for millions are much higher.
Federal Lending Now Stops Short Of What Most Degrees Cost
The federal government’s new limits ended Grad PLUS loans for new borrowers on July 1. Now, graduate students are limited to borrowing $20,500 a year and $100,000 overall, while students in law, medicine, and similar fields are limited to $50,000 a year and $200,000. Parents are now capped at borrowing $20,000 a year and $65,000 per child as well. Those ceilings sit well below the sticker price at many programs, forcing students to turn to private creditors who often maintain stricter limits, worse loan terms, and aggressive collections.
Every figure here is sourced and linked to public reporting, government data, and independent analysis.
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