The cost of attending college has crossed the six-figure mark for 16 institutions, including prestigious schools like Duke, Georgetown, and NYU, as reported by The Princeton Review. This trend reflects a long-standing increase in tuition and associated expenses, leading to a growing pushback from students and families against rising prices.
Jeff Selingo, author of 'Dream School,' notes that many families are reaching their financial limits, resulting in a shift in enrollment patterns where smaller liberal arts colleges are losing students to larger, more affordable public universities.
Despite a modest overall increase in undergraduate enrollment, this growth is primarily seen in community colleges and public institutions, as students increasingly question the return on investment of expensive private schools.
While elite institutions like Harvard and Yale can still raise prices without significant pushback, they are also responding to affordability concerns by enhancing financial aid offerings. Interestingly, many students do not pay the full sticker price due to substantial tuition discounts, averaging 57% for first-time students at private colleges.
This means that families often rely on scholarships and grants to cover college costs, with a significant portion of expenses being funded through financial aid rather than personal income or savings