Students Pay More for Education

Canadian full-time students in undergraduate programs paid 3.3% more on average in tuition fees for the 2013/2014 academic year this fall than they did a year earlier.

This follows a 4.2% increase in 2012/2013, according to a new study from Statistics Canada released on September 12.

On average, undergraduate students paid $5,772 in tuition fees in 2013/2014 compared with $5,586 a year earlier. Undergraduate students in Ontario paid the highest average fees ($7,259) in Canada, followed by students in Saskatchewan who paid $6,394 in university tuition fees. Undergrads in Newfoundland and Labrador ($2,644) and Quebec ($2,653) continued to have the lowest average fees.

Undergraduate students in dentistry ($17,324) paid the highest average undergraduate fees in 2013/2014 as was the case for the previous years. They were followed by students in medicine ($12,438) and pharmacy ($10,942).

In comparison, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index was 1.3% between July 2012 and July 2013. Investing in savings for education must be especially astute under current pricing trends: asset allocation leading to returns well above inflation is required to meet required tuition hikes in Canada.