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Charging U
Why is college so expensive? Charging U explores the causes of high college tuition. If you want to know where all your money is going and why college costs so much more now than it did in the past, join host Larry Bernstein as he looks at how individual pricing, government policy, rankings, endowments, loans, luxurious amenities, administrative bloat, athletics, research, and other factors affect the price we pay for college.
Charging U
14. Why Does College Cost So Much? Putting It All Together
The high cost of college prevents many from attending or causes others to go into debt at an early age and delay life plans.
Why does college cost so much?
Because there is no objective measure of quality, prestige is determined by how much money a college has and spends.
Individual pricing by private colleges allows them to charge each student the most that student and family are willing to pay, now and in the future, to attend that college. The steep increase in wealth of the top 5-10% enables them to afford the higher tuition. Financial aid, loans, and tax policy make more money available. Colleges are aware of this and want at least a portion of those funds.
State appropriations decreased in the 1990s and early 2000s forcing public universities to raise tuition. But they raised tuition much more than the reduced funding.
Both private and public colleges have dramatically increased spending on intercollegiate athletics, research, buildings, administrators, and other programs related to societal issues and to the personal lives of students. They then pass the cost on to students.
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