<p>I mean seriously I think there's a little price inflation and sometimes I wonder if its worth it to spend 50k a year for a good schools education. Is it to pay for all the financial aid that colleges give out these days? It really irks me that I have to pay full tuition while others get by on a free lunch. Just doesn't seem American to me. I'm just wondering what CC's opinion of this is.</p>
<p>to screw the middle class</p>
<p>I agree that colleges that charge $50-60k per year seem to be charging too much. However, supposedly, it “really” costs about $70k per year to educate those kids.</p>
<p>My kids avoided these high costs by accepting large merit scholarships to a mid-tier flagship.</p>
<p>^^^Hmmmm so you only care about your personal gains with no regard for others who have less than you?? Horrible, horrible person.</p>
<p>I believe the cost of college reflects prices that the market will bear. Supply and demand. </p>
<p>If fewer people applied to the expensive schools, I bet their prices would drop. If more people applied to the inexpensive schools, I bet their prices would go up. </p>
<p>
What part is unamerican? Market-driven pricing? Helping those with low incomes? Or squeezing the middle class? Unfortunately, when you’re an old cynic like me, you’ll understand that this is our reality. </p>
<p>In the meantime, please be grateful that you’re able to pay full price. It’s a blessing, not a curse.</p>
<p>*Hmmmm so you only care about your personal gains with no regard for others who have less than you?? Horrible, horrible person. *</p>
<p>LOL…what do you mean by that? How does accepting a merit scholarship mean that you don’t care about those who are less fortunate? We still pay taxes…lots of taxes.</p>
<p>^ I was referring to the OP :p</p>
<p>I can understand the elites charging what they charge considering what they can offer and their facilities. However, it does seem odd to see lower ranking privates charging nearly the same as elites. </p>
<p>*I go to a boarding high school *</p>
<p>Unless you’re on FA at your high school, your family is probably pretty affluent. What are your parents saying about paying for college? Are they willing to pay $50-60k per year for college? If so, be grateful. You really don’t want to be changing places with those who are low income. They don’t nearly have what you have.</p>
<p>yeah but there’s so many people cheating the system of financial aid these days through hiding assests. Also why are all the ivies getting rid of merit/athletic scholarships? Why would you not pay someone to do what they’re good at.</p>
<p>The Ivies don’t need scholarships because their student body is already very talented.</p>
<p>
They are not getting rid of them … they never had them (at least not for the last 60 years or so)</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>To charge less would give the impression that they are inferior to those other schools. It’s all about marketing and perception.</p>
<p>Also why are all the ivies getting rid of merit/athletic scholarships?</p>
<p>I don’t think the ivies ever had athletic scholarships…and I don’t remember that they ever had merit, either.</p>
<p>Why do you think that they did?</p>
<p>*</p>
<h1>I can understand the elites charging what they charge considering what they can offer and their facilities. However, it does seem odd to see lower ranking privates charging nearly the same as elites.</h1>
<p>To charge less would give the impression that they are inferior to those other schools. It’s all about marketing and perception. *</p>
<p>I agree about the marketing bit… I think it’s also so they can “pretend” to give students “merit scholarships”…even to those whose stats are rather average for the school.</p>
<p>My friend’s D is going to a summer program at pricey private. In the past, the program was around $3k per year. Now it’s $4k per year, but they give a $1k “scholarship” (ha ha)…so the parents think that their child is being honored and they’re getting a discount.</p>
<p>" It really irks me that I have to pay full tuition while others get by on a free lunch. Just doesn’t seem American to me." Y</p>
<p>ou don’t have to play the game at all. The FAFSA is used by colleges and families to determine a baseline model. Then they award Fin Aid as they see fit. If your family is out of this range – be glad you’re among the richest people on this planet. You get no sympathy from me. My alma mater charges ~ $50K a year – and about half of the families whose kids attend, just write a check from their immediate savings. They can afford it. Therefore, they should pay it. Un American? What America do you refer to?</p>
<p>"sometimes I wonder if its worth it to spend 50k a year for a good schools education. "</p>
<p>That’s a different question. It’s up to you & your family to decide. Many families do face this choice and choose the lesser cost options. No one is holding a gun to your head to accept any college’s acceptance.</p>
<p>“yeah but there’s so many people cheating the system of financial aid these days through hiding assests.”</p>
<p>What, exactly, is your evidence for this? For the most expensive private institutions it is not easy to hide assets. The middle-priced institutions don’t give all that much aid anyway, so hiding assets won’t make much of a difference. Pop on over to the Financial Aid Forum and read up on this issue.</p>
<p>If people “plan ahead” it’s really not that hard to “hide assets”. it’s not honest and it’s sometimes illegal, but it is not that hard to do if done in advance.</p>
<p>One girl recently mentioned that her parents put their business in her adult brother’s name a few years ago…now that she’s applying to colleges, that asset isn’t there.</p>
<p>Another kid admitted that his parents’ business (restaurant) deals with a lot of cash, so they don’t report much of their income. </p>
<p>A Greek int’l says that much of his family’s income is “black market” so they “look poor”…he’s going to college here in the Fall with a huge amount of aid.</p>
<p>A Thai int’l told me last year that she only showed one of her parents’ savings acct to get aid.</p>
<p>OP, there certainly is some general inflation involved in the cost increase in college. But other factors have driven up the cost as well:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Students definitely want more amenities than when I went to college (25 years ago). They want nice dorms (ideally with suite style rooms), more food options, nice workout facilities, nice classroom buildings, good health clinic options on campus, wireless in all areas of campus, printing capabilities in multiple locations, a nice central student center on campus, and a wide range of study abroad options. The schools that provide these things definitely get more applicants.</p></li>
<li><p>Prospective students want colleges to have state of the art science facilities and research opportunities. </p></li>
<li><p>Benefit costs, particularly healthcare, have gone up a lot for college staff (rising at much faster than the rate of general inflation).</p></li>
<li><p>Many state governments are cutting funding to their public universities, driving up the cost of tuition out of pocket for their students at those schools.</p></li>
</ul>
<p>Those are just some of the reasons why the cost of college at many colleges has risen so high.</p>
<p>There is also the issue that there is not really much price transparency in university cost of attendance. Yes, they post the “list price” on their web sites, but a large percentage of students do not pay “list price” due to need and merit financial aid. However, it is hard for a student to know what his/her actual cost of attendance is at each school without going through the application process; after s/he finds out, the competition between schools is much less (only those which s/he has been accepted to (and open admission community colleges and perhaps some low safeties with rolling admissions), as opposed to the entire universe of schools available).</p>
<p>Obviously, practicing individualized price discrimination is much more optimal for the schools than it is for the students.</p>