2013 College Cost BCS: Kansas State University vs. University of Oregon

The College Cost BCS, in its second year, aims to bring attention to college affordability through football’s coveted college bowl games. What if these teams didn’t play ball and instead, faced off on how well they keep education affordable? Admittedly, the teams here are not a representative sample of higher education in America (nor are they the best in college sports, ahem). They do, however, characterize a wide swath of geographic areas and student populations. So let’s have fun, and play ball!

The Fiesta Bowl

Perhaps the most exciting matchup of this season’s bowl games (given our options), Big 12 Champ Kansas State will take on bowl regular Oregon in the Glendale desert. Both teams are known to travel well with heaps of fans in tow. But are those same fans satisfied with their tuition bills?

1st quarter: Student loan default rate

Both teams carry out the same plays; they each post the same default rate (4.5 percent). That’s good for a field goal each, but hopes of a strong showing in the first quarter are squashed.

Kansas State 3 – Oregon 3

2nd quarter: Tuition increase

A bad call robs the Kansas State Wildcats of a touchdown. Even though the school reports a tuition increase (3.8 percent) that is 3.5 percent lower than the Ducks, it’s not good enough to reach the end zone. Both teams keep their increases below averages, so both settle for field goals. It’s a tied game headed into the half.

Kansas State 6 – Oregon 6

3rd quarter: Net price

Fans were rowdy at the start of the second half, but most are seated with their heads in their hands by the end. Both schools have net price tags around $14,500. That’s $4,000 more than the average, and just a terrible show of affordability on both sides.

Kansas State 6 – Oregon 6

4th quarter: Debt-to-credential ratio

It comes down to this. Remember, the lower the figure, the better an institution is doing at graduating its students with smaller amounts of debt. Both teams post dismal ratios, some of the highest in this bowl series: $21,868 for Kansas State and $18,536 for Oregon. But the touchdown has to go somewhere, and the Ducks are happy to add it to their board. Unfortunately, fans can’t celebrate (or commiserate). Students on both sides count their pennies for beer, since they depleted their accounts paying for fall semester. Most give up and dejectedly drive back to campus; spring semester payments are due soon, after all.

Final score: Kansas State 6 – Oregon 13

Methodology

1st quarter: Student loan default rate

• Field goal: Lower than the averages, (7.9 percent for public, four-year schools and 7.3 percent for private, four-years).
• Touchdown: Lower than average national bank card default rate, 3.58 percent.

2nd quarter: Tuition increase

• Field goal: Lower than the averages, (8.3 percent for public, four-year institutions and 4.5 percent for private, four-years.)
• Touchdown: Lower than the rate of inflation, 1.8 percent.

3rd quarter: Net price

• Field goal: Lower than the average, ($10,080 for public, four-year universities and $21,020 for private, four-years.)
• Touchdown: Lower than the first-year Stafford loan limit of $5,500.

4th quarter: Debt-to-credential ratio

• A touchdown goes to the team with the lowest ratio.

Complete details on our methodology can be found here. Next week, we’ll have the last installment in our series, the National Championship. If you missed the Rose, Orange, or Sugar bowls, check those out in the meantime.

Photo credit: Fiestabowl.org