Hey fellow parents, if I asked is private college priced:
Much too high
Slightly over what it should cost
Just right
Slightly under what it should cost
Much too little considering the value
The same question for a public universities?
MUCH TOO HIGH… FOR BOTH. (Sorry, you needed an additional option in caps for emphasis.)
It’s not about value, it’s about being able to find the money to pay the bill.
It’s ridiculous. Especially for “well endowed” schools. How about using that money to knock off 30k per yr for EVERYONE. Good enough to get in, all deserve some love.
Depends on who you ask, right? Some people are willing to sacrifice everything, some not so much, some don’t have anything to sacrifice, while others don’t have to sacrifice a thing to send their kids to college. People that can’t afford them (or choose not to spend the money) will say they are too high. Those that can afford them will say they are fine. Same with Mercedes, BMWs and Teslas, or any consumer good. Those that can’t afford them or haven’t had them may not see how they could be worth it, those that can afford them, probably can’t imagine anything less. There is certainly the demand on colleges, both public and private, so apparently the prices are working for somebody. Private colleges can charge whatever people are willing to pay but there are a lot of affordable public options out there if one wants to go that way. Seems like they are fine and the value is definitely there. But its really all relative, isn’t it?
College is priced like airline tickets – every seat in a classroom just like every seat on a plane may be sold at a different price.
It’s not just "too high"or “too low” – it’s too incomprehensible and highly variable. If you’re in the right place at the right time with the right GPA and SAT or perhaps athletic skill, you can score a bargain. If you’re in the wrong place at the wrong time, your costs will be much higher.
We made the decision to send our son to a public school in large part because of the perceived value. He was a mid-tier UC qualified student, so most private schools were offering financial aid (really just discounts) that would have put them in range of the UC’s. In the end, he chose Cal Poly SLO because of the near UC reputation at CSU prices. He also really loved the campus and town (who doesn’t?). Even if he had not gotten into Cal Poly, he most likely would have attended our local CSU (Sac State) to save money, then be more status oriented for his M.A. when the extra cost would only be accrued for two years.
So yes, there is definitely a “market” decision involved in the choice. With his options (Willamette, UOP, St. John’s, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz, Cal Poly SLO, Sac State), there was a pretty easy cost-benefit analysis equation to work out. He wanted to go away to a school with a good reputation, but did not want to pay more than he (we) had to for a similar education. The privates and UC’s were overpriced in this scenario.
It’s like cars: what can you afford, what draws the hot chicks, what’s the resale like once you draw the chick and need to get a minivan, shouldn’t you have just bought the minivan in the first place, what’s wrong with the bus, when I was your age I bought a community college and fixed it up on my own, etc. Excuse me, what was the question?
Grossly overpriced.
Too many talented students can’t go to school- at all (or, if they do, it’ll take a decade) because of price. That, IMO, is unconscionable in the so-called richest nation on earth.
I agree with the others…both are overpriced. But, yes, it’s also going to depend a lot on who you ask and what they can afford. The other variable, is which specific private school and which public school you are rating. Some schools are worth more expense than others–of course, that too will depend on who you ask!
So, what is the solution?
Great analogy.
And, too many families are buying an education they can’t afford. Bet a bunch have a range rover to impress the neighbor!
I think there are many reasons college has become too expensive … but reality is setting in.
Many private schools will fail.
There are a lot of things that are overpriced.
Three days at Disneyworld- cannot imagine paying that to shlep a five year old around to wait on lines. But millions of people pay it and do it. Whatever the current i-phone is-- unless it comes to my house and vacuums my living room, no phone is worth what it costs. But people pay it and love it and can’t live without it. Orchestra seats for Hamilton? I hear it’s “worth it”- but it’s not happening on my current budget. Do I resent the people who think differently? Heck no- good for them.
Should we start a thread that says that everyone should drive a used Toyota Camry because every other car out there is overpriced and people who drive them are nuts and are driving up the prices for all of us? No. You want to drive a BMW? Good for you. I’ll stick with my beater, no judgment and no criticism.
There are a lot of things that are overpriced.
Three days at Disneyworld- cannot imagine paying that to shlep a five year old around to wait on lines. But millions of people pay it and do it. Whatever the current i-phone is-- unless it comes to my house and vacuums my living room, no phone is worth what it costs. But people pay it and love it and can’t live without it. Orchestra seats for Hamilton? I hear it’s “worth it”- but it’s not happening on my current budget. Do I resent the people who think differently? Heck no- good for them.
Should we start a thread that says that everyone should drive a used Toyota Camry because every other car out there is overpriced and people who drive them are nuts and are driving up the prices for all of us? No. You want to drive a BMW? Good for you. I’ll stick with my beater, no judgment and no criticism.
Point taken.
I just have decided to look at college selection as a business transaction. I think the colleges see it the same way.
Dean, some do and some don’t.
If your kid is Naval Academy or West Point material, you won’t see it as a business transaction. If your kid ends up in the local community college, surrounded by First Gen kids who work 40 hours a week and are getting their degrees three credits at a time, and take the late bus home to study and do their homework before getting up to start all over again, you won’t see it as a business transaction. All depends on your perspective.
It’s nice to have choices. Some people don’t.
The service academies are indeed a business transaction, IMHO.
They give you an education and other funding in exchange for five years of your life after college.
And, of course only the best of the best need apply, but there is a cost to get that free education.
Lastly, everyone has choices. Some people just have better choices to pick from.
@“Dean Wormer” – part of the solution to the problem @romanigypsyeyes notes with talented students not being able to afford college may be a redistribution of resources.
The elite colleges with billion dollar endowments are becoming “hedge funds with educational institutions attached” – Yale has spent more in hedge fund fees than financial aid, for example. (https://www.vox.com/2015/8/19/9178913/yale-endowment-private-equity) If these colleges wanted to educate low income kids, they could afford to educate a lot of low income kids. Will Dix has proposed if the richest institutions can’t find enough low income kids worthy of HYPS, they should fund scholarships for low income students at institutions with lower endowments.
Why?
Why does the university have an obligation to any student? Why is it based on income? What makes a poor student more worthy than a middle class student?
Why not just tax the endowment?