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[quote=Anonymous]It does reflect a problem with the market for college, though probably not price fixing. Rather, the cost is inflated by three things:

1) The broad availability of federally backed student loans, which directly correlate to the cost of college,
2) The increased demand for non-educational amenities in higher education, and
3) The cost of administrative salaries for the people who oversee the development of these non-educational amenities (as well as, ostensibly, the educational offerings for the school.

They drive up the cost of both public and private colleges. School see those federal loans as, essentially, free money -- students can access it easily regardless of their financial status, and the burden falls entirely on the student. Thus college magically costs more. But as colleges cost more, there is also a demand for a better "experience" to reflect that higher cost, which drives colleges to spend more money on things like gyms, nicer dorms, better dining halls and restaurants, and other things that while nice to have, do not actually augment the educational experience at the school (or make any of the graduates better prepared for future careers).

Of course, those loans aren't actually free money, just ask the students who borrow them. And since the increased costs don't actually purchase a higher quality education than 20, 30, or 40 years ago, we should really all be questioning whether "nice amenities" is the must-have college feature a lot of people seem to think it is.

It would be amazing if more colleges realized this and offered high value college degrees -- fantastic professors and academic facilities and offerings, but a more bare bones living experience to keep costs down. The problem is that we have come to associate a quality education with something more luxurious -- ivy covered, landscaped, etc. And our kids pay the price for this misunderstanding of value.[/quote]

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