The Hidden Costs That Keep Disabled Students From College

In an ideal world, every student would be able to pursue higher education based on their talents and aspirations and not be held back by financial barriers. But for disabled students, the reality is far more complicated. Disability-related costs too often lurk beneath the surface of tuition bills and aid packages, shaping college decisions in profound but hidden ways.

Most financial aid systems treat disability as a static, easily defined category. They do not account for the extraordinary and ongoing expenses many disabled students face, such as specialized health care, assistive technologies, personal care and accommodations that go well beyond a traditional tuition bill. This disconnect creates a persistent gap between aid offered and actual need, forcing students to choose colleges based on affordability rather than opportunity—and sometimes pushing them out of college altogether.

Our recent study, which included in-depth interviews with disabled undergraduates at four-year institutions, revealed how these hidden costs influence every step of a student’s collegiate journey. Some prioritized finding a college near trusted medical providers to avoid costly disruptions in care. Others relied on borrowing far beyond tuition to cover essentials like medication and emergency medical support. Many students were unaware of critical aid programs like Vocational Rehabilitation (a federally subsidized, state-administered program for people with disabilities that can often provide financial assistance for college as a means toward employment) or lacked the guidance necessary to navigate complex financial aid applications that might have alleviated some burdens.

Consider one student in our study who significantly reduced her tuition bill by itemizing health-related expenses on the CSS Profile, which her college used to determine institutional aid. In contrast, other students only completed the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, and most were unaware they could submit a separate amendment to have disability-related expenses considered by their institution under the FAFSA’s “special circumstances” provision. Another student faced rising medical costs and took out loans not just for school but also to sustain daily living while coping with a degenerative condition that jeopardized her ability to pay those loans back in the future. These are financial realities virtually invisible in traditional aid calculations.

This crisis has grown more urgent amid deep federal cuts to Medicaid, rising prescription costs and rollbacks in disability services funding. Together, these trends form a perfect storm that threatens to widen educational inequities for some of our most at-risk students. If higher education continues to ignore the actual costs of disability, it will perpetuate exclusion instead of inclusion.

So, what can colleges do right now?

First, they can update their financial aid assessments to explicitly incorporate disability-related expenses. The CSS Profile’s health cost reporting is a promising tool that many institutions can better promote and integrate into their processes.

Second, colleges must provide accessible, expert financial advising tailored to disabled students. They should partner closely with disability services and external agencies such as Vocational Rehabilitation to help students navigate the fragmented aid system more smoothly. While federal loan limits remain unchanged for the time being, new federal borrowing limits set to go into effect later this year suggest that disabled students who plan to attend graduate school may be at more risk for high-interest and/or predatory loans than ever. By helping students offset more of their disability-related costs at the undergraduate level, institutions can help prevent the need for risky borrowing.

Third, institutions should build emergency and ongoing funds specifically earmarked for disability-related expenses, recognizing that traditional scholarships rarely cover these costs.

Ignoring these hidden financial burdens is not just unfair; it undermines institutional commitments to diversity, equity and access. True disability justice requires financial justice.

Every disabled student deserves not only a seat at the table but also the financial support necessary to thrive once there. With the policy storm gathering, institutions must lead urgently and boldly by transforming financial aid systems to meet the lived realities of disabled students in ways that are inclusive, nuanced and just.