Costs rose 5.9 percent this year at private four-year colleges in the U.S., outpacing the biggest gain in inflation in 17 years and increasing the demand for financial aid.
Tuition and fees rose 0.3 percentage point more than inflation at those schools, to an average of $25,143, according to a report today by the College Board, the New York-based publisher of the SAT exam for high school students.