<p>HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Rice University's undergraduate tuition for 2010-11 will be $33,120 -- an increase of 5.4 percent or $1,690 over last fall's.</p>
<p>Room and board for 2010-11 will increase $520 to $11,750. The total charge for entering students, including tuition, fees, and room and board, will be close to $48,500. Tuition for most graduate students will also increase 5.4 percent, or $1,690, to $33,120.</p>
<p>For students entering the MBA program at the Jones Graduate School of Business, tuition will increase 5 percent, or $2,000, to $42,000.</p>
<p>Where does it end? It seems distressingly likely that a freshman entering Rice in the fall of 2010 will be paying nearly $60,000 as a senior. This at a time when many of us expect our earnings to be decimated or worse for at least the next few years. Rice has been noted as a “relative” bargain compared to some peer institutions, but frankly the difference between 48,500 and, say, 54,000 is at a margin that seems almost immaterial.</p>
<p>Our older son attends a good liberal arts college that is not as expensive as Rice or other top private universities, and he gets a significant merit scholarship. Yet every month I write a check for tuition and fees for him that nearly matches – yes, each month – the entirety of my four years of undergraduate tuition. It is as though higher education in this country has been caught in a third world hyperinflation whirlwind.</p>
<p>We have saved diligently over the course of our marriage and the result is that our children don’t qualify for financial aid according to all the calculators, so we haven’t applied for it. And so we face the real possibility that just as we turn 60 we could be tapped out from college expenses. Unfortunately there will be no “financial aid” program for us to apply for then. It makes the old state flagship look awfully appealing compared to private universities.</p>
<p>This increase is not unexpected, and Rice is not doing anything other Universities are not doing. But the inexorability of this financial squeeze is very painful. This will be an extremely difficult decision for many parents and children, I’m sure. Best of luck to all.</p>
<p>Rice is definitely going to lose its competitive edge with the other top 20 schools… to be frank, Rice’s difference in sticker price isn’t that much anymore. This is not a wise decision on Rice’s part, but I also understand that they have no other choice. I read somewhere that the actual cost per student is around $70,000/student… ridiculous. Probably because the professors are getting paid $70,000-$100,000/year for teaching 3 hours of class a week, outsourcing grading to TAs, and spending the rest of the time traveling to conferences. I believe K-12 teachers are underpaid tremendously, but I strongly believe professors are overpaid, both salary-wise and in terms of health/retirement benefits, for the amount of time they actually devote to students (and this is true of all universities… professors generally spend more time doing research/going to conferences than actually teaching students).</p>
<p>I understand that they need to do research and all in order to get tenure. I was a little harsh in my last post. Universities get a large chunk of their money from research and patents, so I guess then professors can’t spend a lot of time with students. I know the situation is better at Rice than at most universities.</p>
<p>But, for example, I wanted to meet with my humanities professor on a Friday. He only teaches class on Tuesdays/Thursdays. He wasn’t even in his office the whole day, and I’m pretty sure he is not doing research because humanities research is quite limited.</p>
<p>meangirl–what evidence do you have that Rice hands out merit scholarships “like candy”? What makes you think they rely on $$$ to attract students? There are a lot of attractive things about Rice, and they turn away a large number of good students every year. They might be slightly more generous with merit scholarship than some schools, but even stellar applicants can’t rely on getting one, and yet lots of students choose to apply every year. If you’re going to make statements like these, be prepared to back them up.</p>
I emailed the guy who wrote this press release. I believe he transposed the integers in this - the total with fees should be about $45,800, based on the 2010 tuition, room and board, plus the cost of fees (which last year were around $600).</p>
<p>So I’m afraid the $48,500 COA for 2010-11 is accurate. In another year Rice will cross the $50,000 threshold – a truly amazing number for those of us who bought our first homes for just about that much, and then spent many years paying off the mortgage.</p>
<p>Actually, he emailed me back within the hour and said that he thinks I’m correct and the figures were just transposed, but that he will check the info and issue a correction tomorrow if that’s right. </p>
<p>But what YOU are talking about is the Cost of Attendance, not the total charge of “Tuition, room and board and fees” - which is the figure colleges use when comparing costs with other universities. Cost of Attendance is HIGHER because it includes the average of other costs: books (which vary widely depending on major), travel costs and personal expenses. None of those concern me, because my kids have always covered these from work/study earnings - I find it useful to only look at what money I have to cough up! (And Rice’s financial aid has been very good to us…)</p>
<p>And Milwdad, are you SURE you won’t qualify for financial aid with two in college? I heartily recommend applying for financial aid and filling out the forms (Rice will take them even if they are late… it’s only a preferred deadline so that you can have your financial aid package at acceptance)…</p>
<p>Well, I understand your point but it seems to me you’re splitting hairs a bit. Many University websites I have visited state the total cost of attendance, just as Rice’s does.</p>
<p>I think we can all agree it’s an awful lot of money, any way you slice it.</p>
<p>Milwdad - I agree that it is a lot of money! And I understand what you mean, but it’s NOT splitting hairs if you are comparing college costs. (And yes, all colleges show a total “cost of attendance” on their websites somewhere, but not as a basis for comparison.) But when we look at college costs and are comparing several colleges, the cost comparison needs to be “apples to apples” not “apples to oranges.” Not fair to compare “COA” with only “Tuition, fees, room and board.” A parent (not you - ;)) who doesn’t understand the difference between these two numbers is not getting an accurate picture of costs.
[quote]
All of these show tuition, room and board and fees. The better to compare…that’s why I brought this issue up. But is doesn’t look like Rice is going to come out $6000 cheaper than all of these schools - more like $3000-$5500 cheaper.</p>
<p>Each of the past couple of years Rice has gotten closer and closer to the others since Rice has increased theirs by a larger percentage each year. Won’t be long that they will be so close to the same that Rice will no longer will be in the best value league.</p>
<p>See - what I said! He emailed me this morning to say that he had corrected the information in the press release. CCer’s eyes and ears are everywhere!!! :)</p>
<p>MilwDad, I won’t argue with your main point. But as for this: “We have saved diligently over the course of our marriage and the result is that our children don’t qualify for financial aid according to all the calculators, so we haven’t applied for it.”</p>
<p>Your savings are admirable. Income has a far greater influence on financial aid than savings. Remember, under the FAFSA formula, parent assets are assessed at only about 5.6%. Plus there is a generous savings allowance even before you apply that assessment. That means that, of a $100,000 savings account, the FAFASA formula considers only $5600, at most, available for college costs. And tax-deferred retirement savings aren’t touched at all.</p>
<p>I bring this up because I think too many people (not you necessarily) believe this myth that college parents are “penalized” for saving diligently. The penalty is pretty small.</p>
<p>I think professors deserve to be well compensated for their efforts in obtaining a PhD (All most all the professors teaching at Top 20 schools have PhDs), whereas a k-12 teacher may just need a bachelor’s degree + teaching certificate. But you are correct, if you are looking strictly at the amount of hours k-12 teachers work, and professors work, then yes professors are overpaid. However, our society favors those who have better degrees rather than the amount of hours they spend working. (stark differences in the salaries of a doctor and janitor).</p>
<p>Most Profs work WAY more than you think they do! (Elementary teachers, too!) There are lots and lots of job duties that you young uns’ aren’t even aware of- besides the obvious “teaching”. :)</p>
<p>The comment about third-world hyperinflation is rather apt. Large increases in financial aid over the last few decades and a willingness to spend tons of money on education have a lot to do with increasing prices. Supply and demand is a real phenomenon.</p>
And I understand what you mean, but it’s NOT splitting hairs if you are comparing college costs. (And yes, all colleges show a total “cost of attendance” on their websites somewhere, but not as a basis for comparison.) But when we look at college costs and are comparing several colleges, the cost comparison needs to be “apples to apples” not “apples to oranges.” Not fair to compare “COA” with only “Tuition, fees, room and board.” A parent (not you - ;)) who doesn’t understand the difference between these two numbers is not getting an accurate picture of costs.
But is doesn’t look like Rice is going to come out $6000 cheaper than all of these schools - more like $3000-$5500 cheaper.</p>