The New York Times has an interesting OP-ED piece today titled, A Little Learning Is an Expensive Thing by William Chace. Chace is the former President of Emory and Wesleyan Universities. The article, a bit sarcastic, speaks about what Chace ’really’ thinks about the costs of private colleges. We highlight the article for its statistics comparing costs at private and public universities. The following are three snippets:
’The tuition increases here [private college], just like those of our competitors, have outstripped the rate of increase in the consumer price index for years. This fall, tuition, room and board averages almost $32,000 at Laudable and other private colleges, and more than $15,000 at public ones.’
’Laudable will spend more than $41,000 to educate each of you. At public institutions, it will be more than $31,000 per student.’
“But hold on. Most of you and your parents don’t pay for everything yourselves. In public four-year institutions, some 4 in 10 undergraduates get financial aid. At private places like Laudable, more than 80 percent of you do. Just like the auto industry, we have a sticker price and we have the price people really pay.”
We found these statistics very interesting and in particular wanted to comment on the analogy: ’Just like the auto industry, we have a sticker price and we have the price people really pay.’
It seems that people love analogies comparing college costs to costs of automobiles“ take for instance the classic: ’Paying for one year at a private college is like buying a new Mercedes and driving it off a cliff.’ The trouble is that like most analogies there is mixed truth in the statement. While private colleges may be considerably more expensive on paper - in this case more than double that of a public college - there are additional considerations. For example, we would be interested in the following: First, a comparison of professor’s credentials. It would be interesting to see how private and public colleges compare in terms of most prolifically published professors. Second, it would also be interesting to see average class sizes“ the experience of having a world-class professor is diminished greatly with a 500 person, auditorium style course. Third it would be interesting to see the breakdown of public vs. private colleges in terms of cost, but weighted by ranking.
