College Tuition Rates

Within the next five to ten years economists and data analysts predict that the sticker prices of universities, like The University of Chicago, will reach $100,000. According to Alia Wong, the sticker price is the total cost of attendance, including "tuition and fees, supplies,... and lodging." Although The University of Chicago is the primary example of rising tuition rates in the article, Wong notes that many colleges and universities across the nation are well on their way to having six-figure price tags. This increase in the sticker price is attributed to increasing operational costs, lower enrollment, and a competition for prestige because expensive colleges are viewed as good colleges. Also, one of the largest expenditures for schools are their presidents' and executives' salaries. In addition, despite increasing sticker prices, most students pay $10,000 less than the average sticker price, which is roughly $37,000 a year. The growing sticker-net gap is fueling both financial difficulties for schools and low enrollment, since potential students are deterred from even applying to schools because the sticker prices are so expensive. Nationally, a cycle is developing where higher education needs more students enrolled at their institutions to be financially stable, but cannot attract students who are intimidated by school costs.

https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2019/11/some-colleges-could-soon-cost-100000-year/601648/