From staff reports

Attending college can be very expensive for both students and their families. High tuition costs coupled with high overall costs of living can stress an individual’s financial circumstance. 

While the recent announcement of students at Lamar Institute of Technology, Lamar State College-Orange, and Lamar State College Port Arthur will pay substantially lower tuition and fees starting this fall as the TSUS Board of Regents voted unanimously to reduce tuition and fees at the Lamar State Colleges by an average of 25 percent.

According to the most recent data compiled by LendEDU, the average annual price to attend a private four-year college is $50,900, while a public four-year institution is $25,290. Multiply those single year figures by four and you’re looking at a total cost of college in the six figures.

Last year, tuition and fees at the Lamar State Colleges were about $1,800 higher, on average, than Texas community colleges. Now, the cost difference is roughly half that amount.

Due to this steep price tag, people often have to get creative in finding ways to pay for college without overextending the amount of student loan debt they incur. One of the best ways to cover the costs is through scholarships and grants, which do not need to be paid back unlike federal or private student loans.

States are some of the main providers of need-based scholarships and grants for students. A state may have a massive budget for scholarships and grants depending on its fiscal policy.

Using financial aid data licensed from Peterson’s, LendEDU has ranked all 50 states and Washington D.C. according to how much each provides in need-based scholarships and grants per student from each state that is seeking out this specific form of funding.

Texas ranked 12th out of 51 with the average amount per student at $2,237.57

However, overall, Texas ranked second out of the top 12 for the number of students at 225,106 and the total amount of need-based scholarships and grants provided by the state with $503,690,453.

California ranked number one in all three areas with the average amount per student at $5,178.83. The total number of students is 386,472 and the total amount of need-based scholarships and grants provided by the state at $2,001,471, 599.

Using financial aid data licensed from Peterson’s, LendEDU has ranked all 50 states and Washington D.C. according to how much each provides in need-based scholarships and grants per student from each state that is seeking out this specific form of funding.

Montana ranked 51 with a total of 10,677 students, and the average amount per student at $44.78. 

D.C. came in at 50 with an average of $65.73 for the 8,671 students.