Is College Tuition Going Down?

There’s a new tuition-reset movement that’s shaking up higher education.  Several colleges have actually lowered their tuition in an era where sticker prices to elite private colleges are upwards of $70,000 per year.  Yes, you read that correctly!

St John’s College reduced its tuition from $70,000 to just $35,000. Actually about 25 colleges have reset their tuition: Mills, Drew, Sweet Brian, Sewanee, Birmingham Southern, Elizabethtown and others.

Over the past 20 years, private college tuition has increased 166% — 2.5 times the Consumer Price Index. After the 2008 economic crisis (housing bubble), some economists wonder if higher education might be the next bubble to burst. Some believe that the college tuition price is a measure of its quality, which justifies the ridiculous tuition and housing costs parents and students must pay. Back when I was in college in the 1970s, annual tuition was less than $1000. How did annual tuition go from $1,000 to $70,000? Hmm.

[Source]