<p>I found this interesting.... college lowered it's tuition by 33%</p>
<p>College</a> cuts its tuition by 33% – Schools of Thought - CNN.com Blogs</p>
<p>My guess is that Belmont Abbey College was facing declining enrollment, which prompted the move. They are saying all the right things, however, and good luck to them, even if it is a shell game of sorts. Look for FA to be cut significantly to make up the difference.</p>
<p>When a few more overpriced privates start facing empty classrooms, you’ll see more of this. Still plenty of whistling past the graveyard, though.</p>
<p>There have been a few schools that have done this in the past few months. The part that doesn’t get reported is that they are also cutting merit awards making the net cost roughly the same for most students.</p>
<p>Pretty campus though.</p>
<p>A lot of small colleges are also increasing class sizes to grab more tuition dollars. A number of these schools in the past year or two have advertised that they have enrolled ‘the largest class ever’.</p>
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<p>Presumable the full-pay students all stay, and they all pay substantially less. But maybe there weren’t that many of them. That would be one reason to do this. If, for example, everyone was on a merit scholarship and paying 18,500, then you don’t lose anything by doing this (unless someone actually cares about getting a “merit scholarship” apart from their net cost). In fact, you might find that there are some kids who didn’t think it was worth it for 27,500 who will now think it is worth it for 18,500. It all depends on your class demographics and your reputation. In any case, it makes the real price more visible, which is always a good thing. I think its ironic to call it a “shell game”. The true shell game is the one we have now, where the sticker price is paid by a minority, and everyone else receives “financial aid”.</p>
<p>The fiction is the financial aid that “isn’t”. Nothing more than a different price for different people. That’s fine if you can make it work. HYP and others can make it work. For others, its not clear that its a sound policy.</p>
<p>Many are cutting tuition in an effort to attract out of state students, especially when high school graduation rates are declining in home state. Or because, as the previous poster says, the published rate just doesn’t match what people are willing to pay. State schools are also dropping rates for out of state students. </p>
<p>West Texas A&M University is one: tuition dropped 55% this year and is now about $7,600 for tuition and fees for out of state students. In many cases it’s less than what a student would pay in their own home state.</p>
<p>Cost isn’t everything, obviously, but it’s a huge component that can be a barrier for students that want to go “elsewhere.”</p>
<p>nice, the college also looks appealing.</p>
<p>The reason more colleges don’t discount like this is that for those precious full-pay applicants, price is seen as a proxy for quality or status. Just as a high sticker price scares away some applicants, a low one scares some price-insensitive parents. The elite colleges all charge $50k and this one charges only $25k, so that means it’s not as good.</p>
<p>Iowa has a bunch of small private schools, most appealing to “midpack kids”…
Buena Vista, Central, Clarke, Coe, Cornell, Loras, Morningside, Mount Mercy, Simpson, Wartburg Colleges…all have endowments under $100-million. The average tuition discount is 50% at these schools. Nobody pays full fare at these schools so the list price is worthless yet they can’t really lower it like Hanna says as it would cheapen the product. Parents love it when their child gets a $15,000 merit scholarship.</p>
<p>It is kind of like shopping at Kohls. Regular price at Kohls is 50% off. Same for many private colleges.</p>
<p>Certainly great publicity for this relatively unknown college.</p>