Best columns: Collegiate values, Funding college

Colleges have been “jacking up tuition,” says Money’s Penelope Wang in CNNMoney.com, but that doesn’t mean you’re getting more. So how are families paying for college? sa

Paying for college

“For more than two decades,” says Money’s Penelope Wang in CNNMoney.com, colleges and universities “have been jacking up tuition at a faster rate than costs have risen on any other major product or service.” And normal supply and demand “can’t begin to explain” the 439 percent jump in total college costs since 1982. If parents are willing to pay exorbitant costs for top schools, the thinking goes, it must be worth it. But the benefits of a college education, notably earning potential, are “not infinite,” and they aren’t quantitatively better at a more expensive school. And given that post-undergraduate salaries are dropping, while Ph.D.s and master’s graduates are earning more, it might be best to save your money for grad school.

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