Drexel is one of the most expensive private colleges for low-income students, study finds

A recent study by the New America Foundation found Drexel University to have the third highest net price for low income students among the nation’s private colleges.

The study, “Undermining Pell: Volume III,” looked at the proportion of enrolled participants receiving federal aid in the form of Pell Grants and the average net price institutions charged their lowest-income students after grants and scholarships for the 2013-14 academic year. Low-income students were those whose family income was $30,000 or less.

Drexel was reported to have 21 percent of its undergraduates receiving Pell Grants and low income students paying a net price of $26,588. Only schools with endowments of $500 million or more are included were included in Drexel's category, according to The Washington Post.

The report listed the University of Pennsylvania as one of the nation’s private colleges with the lowest proportion of Pell Grants and lowest net price. Fourteen percent of Penn’s undergraduates received Pell Grants in 2013-14 and low income students paid a net price of $7, 363 that year.

For public four-year colleges, Pennsylvania was ranked among the top states with the most expensive average net prices for low income students, more than $13,000 compared with less than $7,000 in Hawaii.

Penn and Drexel were on the same lists for the 2011-12 academic year in the foundation’s previous study. New America is a nonprofit civic enterprise and published the study this month as part of their Education Policy Program. They hope to address the nation’s educational issues by providing research and policy analysis.

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