Concern over the rising cost of college is nothing new, but it's taking an interesting turn.
Most of the attention given to college costs focuses on the sticker price, but few students ever pony up that much. As that price rises, merit-based aid does, too, and most students get what amounts to a discount. The College Board's recent reports on trends in college pricing and student aid highlight yet again the difference between the price in the admissions brochure and what families actually pay (The Chronicle, October 29). But now colleges see both a sputtering economy and an increase in the number of prospective students whose families have not attended college-two factors that could reduce families' willingness to face that high sticker price. How long can the model of ever increasing price and merit aid be sustained? What new system would rise in its place? The college pricing system's shaky foundation is based on a decline in government support for higher education.
This is an excerpt from the College Advising Newsletter for the week of November 4th, 2008, which is attached below in pdf format.