<p>@devolution
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<p>Back in the 1970’s, your boarding school was likely to have been more socioeconomically diverse, even with mostly full-pay students, than a school with only full-pay students would be today.</p>
<p>A quick search this morning brought up a few interesting links. I couldn’t find an online description of boarding school tuition for the early 1970’s, so we’ll have to make do with 1982 instead. (If you know, or can find, the figures for the 1970s, please share. However, as tuition has been increasing at more than the rate of inflation for years, I don’t think tuition will be higher in 1970 than 1982.)</p>
<p>At any rate, the New York Times from 1982: <a href=“http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/02/science/high-costs-leading-prep-schools-to-give-more-student-loans.html?ref=tuition[/url]”>http://www.nytimes.com/1982/03/02/science/high-costs-leading-prep-schools-to-give-more-student-loans.html?ref=tuition</a>. Ok, it is to weep,
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<p>$8,000 in 1982 is the equivalent of $19,365.47 in 2013. If tuition, room and board were $19,365.47 today, we wouldn’t be talking of such extensive financial aid programs, because many more families would be potential full-pay families. Today, I believe the best figure to use is $50,000. That’s more than twice as expensive.</p>
<p>The trouble is, except for the highest quintile, incomes have remained flat. Please look at the first slide at:<a href=“http://kltprc.info/pubs/presentations/2008conference/Crouch_2008conference_handouts.pdf[/url]”>http://kltprc.info/pubs/presentations/2008conference/Crouch_2008conference_handouts.pdf</a> </p>
<p>In 1982, the second quintile in after-tax income earned the equivalent of about $57,000 in 2005 dollars ($28,164.36 in 1982 dollars.) Thus, $8,000 would have been about 28% of the family after-tax income.</p>
<p>In 2005, the second quintile made about $70,000 (in 2005 dollars.) Assuming that income has remained stable to 2013, $50,000 tuition, room and board represents 71% of the family after-tax income.</p>
<p>In the 1970s, many more families could afford tuition, room and board. Today, far fewer families can afford it. The families with the highest incomes are likely to live in states and cities with a very high cost of living. </p>
<p>Note that in 1982, the coordinator of music and drama programs for public schools in Concord, Massachusetts, was able to send two children as day students to Thayer, borrowing $1,800 over three years to make it possible. A similar family, today, would not be able to send even one child to private school without significant financial aid.</p>