<p>Where merit aid is offered, it is offered to those who qualify, regardless of family income, isn’t that correct? Merit aid can’t be considered a subsidy for wealthier students.</p>
<p>For colleges that claim it actually costs $60-70K to educate their students, and therefore they are giving everyone a break…I find that really hard to buy. Either they are really mismanaging their resources, or they are spending a lot of money building some overly expensive digs. i suppose they could be full of it, and finding a way to justify charging more than necessary for tuition. There is a pride factor for many of these schools to charge high tuition, they do it because they can, and people are willing to pay it. If they couldn’t get anyone to pay the full price, they’d lower their tuition. If the applications weren’t rolling in at record rates, they’d be forced to cut the prices.</p>
<p>I figure this entire scheme with massively rising tuition, some people getting a cheap deal while others pay full freight, is a social justice program combined with a business model. It’s much like taxes, they get the money where they can, and they can’t get it from those who aren’t making it. While providing special deals to those they really want, via merit aid. They also get far more students to apply by offering fa, which is probably the top goal…increase the applicants, lower the acceptance rates, move yourself up on the list of elite and desirable schools. A larger pool to pick from should also raise their stats.</p>