Monday, June 13, 2011

The cost of tuition

This is the cost of tuition at Brown University: nominal, and, in parenthesis, inflation adjusted (2010 dollars)
2011 $41328 (not yet known)
2010 $39928 ($39928)
2009 $38048 ($39469)
2008 $36828 ($37267)
2007 $35584 ($37377)
2006 $33888 ($36592)
2005 $32864 ($36373)
2004 $30672 ($35101)
2003 $29200 ($34520)
2002 $27856 ($33556)
2001 $26568 ($32773)
2000 $25600 ($32084)
1999 $24624 ($31910)
Does this mean that this college has become more money-elitist, restricting admission except to the wealthy?

At the same time financial aid has increased from $34 millions in 2002 ($40 millions inflation adjusted dollars) to $81 millions in 2010, thus basically doubling. Does this mean that this college has become less money-elitist, redistributing more income so as to provide admission to the less wealthy as well?

If we take this to the limit, the tuition could be set at infinity, financial aid could be at near-infinity, and the financial aid office could decide arbitrarily how much each student has to pay out of their own pocket. The main result is that the college has more control over who pays what. That is, those numbers are reflecting reality less and less.

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