[Sacajaweau]

People still pay the tuition and they’re still in business. Where’s the problem? This is a Private college.

[NakedRampage]

My brother was attending a private Catholic college on a 50% scholarship, kept up his grades, didn't live on campus, did not party, etc. In short, a good student. Even with 50% scholarship, the tuition went up so much in jsut two years that he couldn't swing it anymore. That was while working too.

Its getting to the point that these rich privileged brats who haven't done a days work in their life are the only ones who can afford it, or rather their parents can afford it. Regular, solid, middleclass Americans are getting squeezed out.

[George from New England]

Where’s the problem? ... It’s not private funds that the students use. At those prices it’s likely to be over-benefited pensions from union retirees or federal workers.

[Sooth2222]

"People still pay the tuition and they’re still in business. Where’s the problem? This is a Private college."

I wouldn't have a problem with this if mom and dad and the kids were writing the tuition checks. The problem is that mostly they're not paying the tuition. They're borrowing the money to pay the tuition, and you (and I) are guaranteeing the loans.

College tuition follows a similar inflation model to health care cost where the beneficiary of the product isn't paying for it. At least not immediately. We're out of money, and the price inflation is unsustainable. College education is going to explode, just like the real estate bubble did.

[fungoking]

“People still pay the tuition and they’re still in business. Where’s the problem? This is a Private college.”

What allows them to overcharge is that the students who go there get federal student loan and federal financial aid; both coming out of the taxpayers pocket.

Tie the amount of students that get federal money or loans to the % of the school's endowment that goes to student financial aid.

[kabar]

I wonder how much federal and public funding goes to that “private” college. The now Federal student loan program and Pell grants help students pay for the tuition at those schools. And if there are defaults or whatever the balance after 20 years, the taxpayer picks up the tab. There are very few schools in the US that don’t get some sort of government subsidy. Hillsdale is one of the few I believe.

[kabar]

The combined value of federal grants and contracts for research and related activities at Vanderbilt University, including the Medical Center, totaled $424 million in fiscal year 2009. The National Science Foundation ranked Vanderbilt 22nd among U.S. colleges and universities based on all federal obligations for research and development funding in fiscal year 2007, the most recent year for which these rankings are available. This is the fifth consecutive year that Vanderbilt has been ranked in the top 25 universities.