College costs are actually going down

[FlaGator]

Most colleges locked tuition raises as a result of the pandemic. I'm betting you'll see it head higher... As for having 2 children about to start college in the next 5 years, my message to them has been: Max AP courses in HS, push 2yr community/bridge college, then finish at the college of their choice. Its a lot easier to swallow when its 4 semesters vs. 8. And lets be honest, paying a lot of money for the first two years of college is a waste.

As long as we're being honest......

Yes, HS AP classes can take care of a lot of the first year or so of college. My oldest ended up as Soph after her first semester at University and was able to complete a Master's in four years. Definitely helps.

For those who didn't, or couldn't take advantage of AP or Dual Enrollment (hope that's not just a Florida thing), I find the argument against during 4 full years on campus, and away from home to be less persuasive if the funds are available. IMO, one of the reasons to leave home and go to school is to start to prepare for independent adult life. Yes, there is a cost to do so, and it can be mitigated by HS AP classes, community college, etc.

If kids have been prepared during HS beyond academics, I think there is no substitute for sending them away to an appropriate environment to go to school. I'm an older parent, and mine knew they had to get in, get it done, and graduate before I died .

 

[Koolau]

I find it difficult to wrap my head around the cost of college these days. When I was a HS Senior, I applied for a scholarship that was based on need and academics. I won $100 scholarship for both first and second semester of my Freshman year ($200 total.) That amount was more than half of the tuition of the state school I attended. Working summers, I easily paid all college tuition, fees, transportation, books, spending money, etc. The big advantage was that I lived at home. On a good day, I could use the family car to drive to class. If there were a conflict, the bus would take me. Heh, heh, I sense that things have changed.

 

[MichaelB]

I find it difficult to wrap my head around the cost of college these days. When I was a HS Senior, I applied for a scholarship that was based on need and academics. I won $100 scholarship for both first and second semester of my Freshman year ($200 total.) That amount was more than half of the tuition of the state school I attended. Working summers, I easily paid all college tuition, fees, transportation, books, spending money, etc. The big advantage was that I lived at home. On a good day, I could use the family car to drive to class. If there were a conflict, the bus would take me. Heh, heh, I sense that things have changed.

Visual Capitalist has nice graphs. Here’s one for college tuition https://www.visualcapitalist.com/rising-cost-of-college-in-u-s/

Since 1980, college tuition and fees are up 1,200%, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for all items has risen by only 236%.

Note - the light area in the graph is inflation and the dark area is average college costs above inflation.

 

[Koolau]

Visual Capitalist has nice graphs. Here’s one for college tuition https://www.visualcapitalist.com/rising-cost-of-college-in-u-s/


Note - the light area in the graph is inflation and the dark area is average college costs above inflation.

Thank goodness the gummint has been helping out with FAFSA, student loans and other such things. Without gummint help, the poor universities would have had to keep their tuitions stable to get any students. That would have been unfortunate.

 

[Phroig]

The number of administrators has grown exponentially.

 

[Koolau]

The number of administrators has grown exponentially.

Not to mention new and improved administration buildings. It's very beautiful. I no longer recognize my university campus. It went from old buildings that were adequate for 80 years to diamond plated edifices that I'd feel like I needed to take off my shoes to enter. I'm not sure they would even let me in any more.

 

[anothercog]

my eldest will be attending college in the fall, thankfully a UC.

According to the FAFSA, I can supposedly afford 125% of my take home pay per year towards his education. Only "aid" was unsubsidized loans.

He did apply to one elite private school but wasn't admitted so I don't know if there would have been any fee reduction but based on my co-workers, they are paying full price for their kids' college. Yes, these colleges have plenty of money to give but they are only giving it to poor and lower middle class. I'm actually thrilled he wasn't admitted because I thought the school was horribly overpriced.

For lesser tier private schools, they will pay for kids with exceptionally high test scores.

The best value in California is to attend community colleges and then transfer into a UC as a junior. It's easier to get in as a transfer too.

We considered this route but ultimately, I felt a large part of college learning is the college experience and I'm willing to pay for him to have that experience.

 

[madatrub]

my eldest will be attending college in the fall, thankfully a UC.

According to the FAFSA, I can supposedly afford 125% of my take home pay per year towards his education. Only "aid" was unsubsidized loans.

He did apply to one elite private school but wasn't admitted so I don't know if there would have been any fee reduction but based on my co-workers, they are paying full price for their kids' college. Yes, these colleges have plenty of money to give but they are only giving it to poor and lower middle class. I'm actually thrilled he wasn't admitted because I thought the school was horribly overpriced.

For lesser tier private schools, they will pay for kids with exceptionally high test scores.

The best value in California is to attend community colleges and then transfer into a UC as a junior. It's easier to get in as a transfer too.

We considered this route but ultimately, I felt a large part of college learning is the college experience and I'm willing to pay for him to have that experience.

I dunno about that. My nephew has no father, no mother, and has graduated with a 3.8 GPA from a local university. His EFC was $0 and he's was maxed out on Unsubsidized and Subsidized student loans for his 4 years.

 

[madatrub]

my eldest will be attending college in the fall, thankfully a UC.

According to the FAFSA, I can supposedly afford 125% of my take home pay per year towards his education. Only "aid" was unsubsidized loans.

He did apply to one elite private school but wasn't admitted so I don't know if there would have been any fee reduction but based on my co-workers, they are paying full price for their kids' college. Yes, these colleges have plenty of money to give but they are only giving it to poor and lower middle class. I'm actually thrilled he wasn't admitted because I thought the school was horribly overpriced.

For lesser tier private schools, they will pay for kids with exceptionally high test scores.

The best value in California is to attend community colleges and then transfer into a UC as a junior. It's easier to get in as a transfer too.

We considered this route but ultimately, I felt a large part of college learning is the college experience and I'm willing to pay for him to have that experience.

I dunno about that. My nephew has no father, no mother, and just graduated with a 3.8 GPA from a local university. His EFC was $0 and he's was maxed out on Unsubsidized and Subsidized student loans for his 4 years.

 

[Librarian]

Hahahahaha

3rd son just graduated last weekend.
This story is SO SO misleading.

When I attended state university in the 80s, it was $1K/yr for tuition & fees. My parents were making a combined $50K/yr at the time. I wanted to go to a private school but $10K/yr was out of the question (even with the “generous” $3K scholarship I was offered)

It is now $10K/yr at state. We were nowhere CLOSE to making $500K the years b4 retiring (2020 was last year we both worked full time all year) 2 teachers, no aid offered.

2 oldest went to TCU—Costs there increased 8%/yr while they were there!
DS 28 had 3rd best freshman scholarship offered, DD25 received 2nd best (best being full ride).
Costs for DD were nearly identical to DS with those increases.
Even with scholarships their annual costs were about $40K (they were all blessed with grandparent’s 529s)

Ok, TCU’s expenses are now $65K/yr.
That is INSANE (it was insane 10 yrs ago)
Saying “college prices are coming down” is a joke.
They have been out of control for some time & could not POSSIBLY continue to go up…

 

[NameTaken2]

If in HS now, I'd consider the trades and other options that can earn a very good living without taking on huge college debt.

If considering college, I'd investigate the options to pay for it that are provided by military service. Yes, there's some risk involved -but there's also pride in serving your country along with personal growth/experience.
To confirm my perspective that there's better opportunities these days, I'd explore all options before opting to take on huge debt to follow the "4 year degree for success" mantra.

 

[anothercog]

If in HS now, I'd consider the trades and other options that can earn a very good living without taking on huge college debt.

If considering college, I'd investigate the options to pay for it that are provided by military service. Yes, there's some risk involved -but there's also pride in serving your country along with personal growth/experience.
To confirm my perspective that there's better opportunities these days, I'd explore all options before opting to take on huge debt to follow the "4 year degree for success" mantra.

How much does the military actually provide? With Private schools at $80k+/year and public at $30k+/year, does it cover today's tuition?

 

[HawkeyeNFO]

How much does the military actually provide? With Private schools at $80k+/year and public at $30k+/year, does it cover today's tuition?

Full Ride in many cases.

 

[NameTaken2]

How much does the military actually provide? With Private schools at $80k+/year and public at $30k+/year, does it cover today's tuition?

Nephew completed ROTC full ride at a state school.
Now based stateside, working in Cybersecurity.
No debt, and in a high-demand occupation.

My impression is that there's many similar great opportunities.
IMHO, an option worth exploring regardless of preconceptions.

 

[anothercog]

Nephew completed ROTC full ride at a state school.
Now based stateside, working in Cybersecurity.
No debt, and in a high-demand occupation.

My impression is that there's many similar great opportunities.
IMHO, an option worth exploring regardless of preconceptions.

That's a pretty good deal. the military is not a good fit for my eldest but I could see my youngest in the Navy. We'll see how high school goes for him.

My son will be attending UC Santa Barbara. The most expensive part of it is housing. I'm hoping he gets a job as an RA in his second year which will give him free room and board plus a small stipend.

If I can help get him a summer internship at my company he would earn enough to cover housing costs as well. It pays pretty well.

 

[tryan]

My cousin married a tenured grad professor ... his pulls 140k/year (and this was YEARS ago) teaching the same 3 courses he's taught for decades. Material rarely changed.

He's a scratch golfer .... lots of time on his hands. This is why college is not cheap.

 

[rodi]

My son will be attending UC Santa Barbara. The most expensive part of it is housing. I'm hoping he gets a job as an RA in his second year which will give him free room and board plus a small stipend.

UCSB is a gorgeous campus. But off campus housing is craaaazy. Kid down the street graduates from there in a week or two... he made the bad decision to move out of on-campus housing - and saw his housing costs increase dramatically because there is no affordable housing. When we looked at UCSB one of the things I read about how this can be mitigated is the 'guaranteed housing' if you never move out of on-campus housing. Residential halls for freshmen, then suites for Sophomores and up.

My younger son is up the road from there at CalPoly. He applied for but didn't get into the dorm for sophomore year. Off campus housing is expensive and hard to find in SLO. Almost as hard as Santa Barbara/Goleta.

 

[BklynGinger]

Could someone tell my son's school that tuition is going down? Apparently, they did not get this information ?

 

[rodi]

As long as we're being honest......

Yes, HS AP classes can take care of a lot of the first year or so of college. My oldest ended up as Soph after her first semester at University and was able to complete a Master's in four years. Definitely helps.

For those who didn't, or couldn't take advantage of AP or Dual Enrollment (hope that's not just a Florida thing), I find the argument against during 4 full years on campus, and away from home to be less persuasive if the funds are available. IMO, one of the reasons to leave home and go to school is to start to prepare for independent adult life. Yes, there is a cost to do so, and it can be mitigated by HS AP classes, community college, etc.

If kids have been prepared during HS beyond academics, I think there is no substitute for sending them away to an appropriate environment to go to school. I'm an older parent, and mine knew they had to get in, get it done, and graduate before I died .

Both my boys did AP and IB course work and entered college with a decent number of units under their belt. It didn't necessarily apply to their degree, but since the grades in AP and IB are weighted - it did help them get accepted. The only classes that applied towards degree requirements were ones that fit the gen-ed parts of the degree. Both boys have excess gen-ed humanities and liberal arts credits from the AP/IB stuff.

Older son has been on a circuitous path... Freshman year at CalPoly Pomona where he got an A in partying, and F's in everything else. (Pandemic was a factor in the 2nd semester...). So moving out for the life experience isn't always the best move. Looking back -we kind of knew he wasn't ready for college or living on his own... but we sent him anyway.

He moved home for COVID and got a job... He's now back up in Pomona living with friends... but attending the community college up there and working. He's on track to transfer to either UCSD or UCLA... He's an honors student in Math. It's taken 2 years of straight A's to pull his GPA back up. His friends are graduating with their bachelors degrees... he's on a different path than them... But the community college is dirt cheap and he's been working so he still has plenty of 529 money to finish his degree.

 

[lucky2030]

If you read the linked report from College Board, what they actually are saying is that CPI-adjusted college tuition went down the last two years. Nominal tuition still went up.

So, in 2 years of very high inflation, college tuition did not increase as much as the things driving inflation - used cars, services, airline and hotel prices.

 

[MC Rider]

The school I went to the first 2 years of college was about $5,000 a year, room and board iirc. Looked online it is now over $50k. OK, that was in the late 70's.

 

[ncbill]

How much does the military actually provide? With Private schools at $80k+/year and public at $30k+/year, does it cover today's tuition?

You can still get ROTC scholarships that cover tuition & fees for private schools.

That's what my recent graduate did.

Had he not received the above his plan was to move to another state & join that state's National Guard which would have waived tuition at that state's public schools.

States set their own rules on education benefits for Guard members so for that state he would have had to go through both Basic & Advanced camps before becoming eligible for tuition waivers, so he probably would have missed the fall semester & started in the spring.

 

[Gumby]

My cousin married a tenured grad professor ... his pulls 140k/year (and this was YEARS ago) teaching the same 3 courses he's taught for decades. Material rarely changed.

He's a scratch golfer .... lots of time on his hands. This is why college is not cheap.

From what I read, colleges actually are moving to poorly paid, non-tenured adjunct faculty. The larger amount of the increase in cost is to pay for the ever expanding administrative staff. A quick look at the University of Connecticut website shows literally dozens of vice presidents, assistant vice presidents, associate vice presidents, directors, associate directors and other highly paid staffers, none of whom appear to teach at all. And I don't know if students and their parents are demanding it or not, but they also spend an awful lot of money on the latest and greatest facilities.

 

[MichaelB]

College have seen no improvements in productivity for the past half century, have added layers of additional cost, and also have added functions and extracurricular activities that are not academic. Alex Tabarrok of George Mason University has written extensively on this, here are a few of his blog posts at Marginal Revolution. It’s a bit wonky.

He attributes this to “Baumol cost disease”. Wages of professionals at the colleges have risen even though there has been no improvement in productivity because competitive professions, such as doctors and lawyers, have enjoyed increases in the price of labor.

In other words, college cost of labor rises because it can, and that flows immediately to the overall cost.

 

[braumeister]

College have seen no improvements in productivity for the past half century, have added layers of additional cost, and also have added functions and extracurricular activities that are not academic.

And the ones I'm familiar with have gone on building sprees for the last few decades. Showy new buildings that are often only peripherally related to the teaching or research mission. That adds up in a hurry.