<p>Private schools are edging towards the $60K a year price tags. That means that those entering these schools this year are looking at a total cost of a quarter of a million dollars for undergraduate degree. </p>
<p>I believe that the availability of loans for college is causing the prices to go up. Pull the special treatment of education loans so that people cannot borrow, and see what happens. Yes, there will still be schools that people will be willing to beggar themselves for their kids to attend, but I think in a short time, it will bring the true value of colleges into perspective. </p>
<p>If you read this section of the forum on people willing to do anything just to borrow that money for college without a thought of how they had managed their money in the past which often is the reason they need to borrow that money for college, you will see very clearly who the students are in massive debt. Some of those students have that noose around their parent or other loved one who cosigned for them too.</p>