<p>I read this morning the WUSTL student paper...
Undergraduate tuition tops $34K</p>
<p>Undergraduate tuition will cost $34,500 for the 2007-08 academic year, a 5.2 percent increase which amounts to $1,700 over the 2006-07 costs, University officials announced on Thursday. Room-and-board charges will increase by $456 (4.1 percent) to $11,632 for a full meal plan and new student housing.</p>
<p>I need a cup of coffee...and a trip tp the moon.</p>
<p>These costs are so unaffordable for everyone other than the rich. State schools are out of hand too. Something has to change for students to get a college education in the future, in this country. I don't think that cutting Stafford interest loans, or small increases in Pell grants even puts the slightest dent into the problem.</p>
<p>northeastmom, these are sticker prices not the amounts most students pay. The real key is whether need based aid is keeping up with the total cost.</p>
<p>True, most students don't pay the sticker price, but there are still a significant number of middle class families who are stuck: too rich to qualify for financial aid, and not wealthy enough to afford the tuition easily. Also, the current system discriminates against thrifty families who plan ahead rather than spending money on expensive vacations and entertainment. College tuition hikes have exceeded inflation for many years, and it's just not fair. :(</p>
<p>"True, most students don't pay the sticker price, but there are still a significant number of middle class families who are stuck: too rich to qualify for financial aid, and not wealthy enough to afford the tuition easily."</p>
<p>$160k income puts one in the top 3% of the U.S. population. Hardly "middle class". At $160k, the colleges rightly believe folks could have been putting significant funds away for years, or borrow against future earnings that will be significantly higher, with tuition paid for in depreciated dollars. No college expects the top 3% of U.S. families to pay for college out of current income, though many can.</p>
<p>Well, I do believe the total cost for WUSL is less than either of my two kids' schools. It's all relative, LOL. </p>
<p>(mind boggling the ticket price, I agree)</p>
<p>"College tuition hikes have exceeded inflation for many years, and it's just not fair."</p>
<p>True, but misses the point. College costs among the prestige colleges have gone up SLOWER than increases in assets and incomes among the top 5% of the population for over 25 years. For the prime customers, typically more than 50% of student bodies at these places, prestige colleges are actually cheaper than 25 years ago. And this becomes very clear when one looks at supply and demand - the number of applications, and the number of folks ready and willing to pay full price has gone way up, rather than down.</p>
<p>It has made it more difficult for "middle class" customers. (The average family income in the U.S. is roughly $52k.) These colleges are less economically diverse than they were 25 years ago, and in many cases, this is so even though the percentage of students receiving aid has gone up, as many of those receiving small amounts of aid are in the $100-$160k income category.</p>
<p>If it's too much, don't pay. Go somewhere else. (Cressmom, I am not ragging on you. You are certainly entitled to your rant!) I am reading in today's paper that "half of this year's freshman were accepted to their top pick but chose to enroll somewhere else - and money appears to be a significant reason why." There are alternatives to attending that top $45k/year university. My son just got accepted to James Madison U in Virginia. Annual cost for out of state students is around $22k. We will give it serious consideration. Community college is vastly underrated. We visited the other day, and seems to me they have everything most LACs have except dorms.</p>
<p>I still remember 35 years ago my father telling me not to bother applying to Harvard. It wasn't my lifetime dream or anything like that. He was simply telling me that as a Michigan resident there was no financial rationale for attending a private university.</p>
<p>NJres, VA is less expensive than many of the NE OOS public school prices. We did exactly as you suggested, and as you know, my son is at James Madison.</p>
<p>I understand that these are sticker prices, and they are a whopping number! Greenblue, I agree with you!</p>
<p>S took Georgetown off his list for exactly that reason: It is too expensive. An apt analogy was posted somewhere on these boards recently...when shopping for a car, we passed up the Jaguar. Nice, but beyond our means. "We can't afford it" are not four dirty words.</p>