<p>Well, if you are thinking about dropping Wesleyan from your list because of this increase, you will find they are very typical of other schools. You really have to stop thinking about the overall per capita growth in income and inflation, and just accept that this is what is happening with college expenses (and has been for many, many years in the US). You wont change it by analyzing it further. Lots of people who CAN’T afford it keep saying it has to stop, but it doesn’t. There are whole threads out there about why it is going up faster than inflation that I would rather not re-hash or reinvent. Just figure out what you can afford and make a decision, knowing costs will go up every year.</p>