<p>I may be simple-minded, but given Stanford's income and continually increasing endowment (<a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/01/23/daily15.html)%5B/url%5D">http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2006/01/23/daily15.html)</a>, I do have a hard time understanding this. I also find it annoying that first Stanford made a big publicity fuss last year about its generosity in granting middle-income families tuition relief, as if it were digging into its own pocket to do so, and then apparently is simply shifting the burden to higher-income families rather than shouldering it itself.</p>
<p>Elite colleges have made the decision to move to a more progressive pricing structure: charge their wealthy customers higher sticker prices and discount the price to low, middle, and upper middle income customers in the form of financial aid. If they wanted to, Stanford could probably auction off several hundred slots to qualified candidates and get $1 million each. Why not raise the sticker price?</p>
<p>There are plenty of schools with diffferent pricing policies, including many that offer their best deals to wealthy customers (merit aid) and offer fewer low income students price discounts. For example, if you have the stats to get into Stanford, you could probably get a whale of a price discount at USC.</p>
<p>That's the great thing about American higher education. There's a product and a pricing plan for just about everybody.</p>
<p>5% up for list price in a year that the stock market with dividends went up more than 10? A bargain for full-freight customers, who are the ones that counts. What's progressive about lowering the relative cost for the full-freighters?</p>
<p>You're lumping a huge income range into that "full freight customers" category and making the assumption that they're all stock market millionaires, but that is categorically not true. </p>
<p>I still think it is hypocritical that they take the credit for making things easier for middle income families when in fact they are just passing the buck. Sorry--I am a big Stanford fan but this bugs me.</p>
<p>I went to Stanford for college. The week of graduation, they started soliciting us for donations. I told my friend "why would anyone donate -- they charge a ridiculous amount for tuition." </p>
<p>My friend responded "Ahh, but nostalgia increases with age."</p>
<p>Well, 15 years later, I feel exactly the same way. Actually, if I were filthy stinking rich, I would probably donate money to Stanford on the condition that it go 100% to tuition reduction.</p>