I would have thought that the price increases would have stabilized by now. I was dead wrong. I didn’t think they’d go over $50k and that less selective schools would lower their prices, causing the most selective to hold back. But we can see how that went .
Demographics are changing. We have far fewer high school seniors than we did at the boomer kids’ peak in 2008. But more kids seem to be applying to more schools and to the same schools do that the more selective schools are getting even more selective.
I’ve been away from CC and college admissions for about 3 years, and I am seeing more merit money, hefty amounts. Schools where my kid was getting <$5k in merit are now offering up 5 figure awards. A lot more discounting happening also seems like the RIP section for colleges has been growing.
The student loan situation is getting to be pretty bad as a lot of the amounts borrowed are not getting smaller, but bigger with interest and they are causing problems both for the students now trying to launch their lives and families, as well as parents who co-signed and took out PLUS who are getting their Social Security checks garnished.