$43,310.
That's the average price of tuition, room and board at Minnesota's private colleges and universities this year, according to the Minnesota Private College Council.
But college officials insist that's no reason to panic. In fact, this fall, they launched a new statewide TV and video campaign to try to convince prospective students that they shouldn't be scared off by sticker prices.
The project, "Paying for College," makes the argument that you don't have to be rich to attend college — public or private.
Too many families assume that college is simply out of reach, says Larry Pogemiller, commissioner of Minnesota's Office of Higher Education, which co-sponsored the project along with the Minnesota Private College Fund. "This television show was created to help them understand that with the right tools, higher education can be affordable," he said.
The video series made its debut on Twin Cities Public Television (TPT) this month, and can be found online on the sponsors' websites.
Recognizing that the process can be daunting, the series offers advice about applying for financial aid and searching for scholarships and other ways of cutting out-of-pocket costs, sometimes to zero.
The series starts with a half-hour overview and includes 10-minute segments aimed at "first in the family" college students, as well as pieces in Hmong, Somali and Spanish.
