No Stupid Questions

Because people are still paying it. That's how you set the price of things. If people are paying 70k why would you sell it cheaper?

because america is the land of profit over humans. its just that simple.

its ingrained in the entire country. if some rando at the top isnt profiting, it must be killed. its the problem with healthcare. its the problem with government (congress). its the reason we are entrenched in a 2-party hellscape.

Because Reagan defunded public secondary education. And then instead of fixing that in the late 90s/early 00s, they made school loans non expungable and federally guaranteed, so schools didn't need to keep their prices low and competitive anymore.

It always goes back to Reagan...

If we can reason and communicate effectively then we're much harder to exploit.

Education is priced above the balance of supply and demand because in wider scope it's more profitable to deny access.

Denial of access to education is a very good way to leave many people with violence as their only practical means of change.

Administrative bloat. At my university, if my lab lands a grant, 60% goes to the university and only 40% is used for actual research. There's a long chain of people whose jobs are to answer emails, and they all need to be paid.

US universities engage in price discrimination between different students.

For public schools, there is different tuition between in state and out of state students. There are also some state government programs based on merit and financial considerations.

For well endowed private schools, the universities will provide scholarships based on a variety of reasons. For students from rich families, those families are generally paying full price and there generally is the implication of additional donations.

Greed. Come on were you really expecting a different response?

Tuition is also higher for international students.

The politicians of the US took massive payouts from the banking industry in exchange for commodifying anything and everything that people need. Back in ~~2008~~ 2005, Biden himself took a $250,000 bribe from MBNA to make it illegal to escape student loans even in bankruptcy.

Nobody knows. Serious, there are a lot of factors people will point to in here. Some of them are real factors, but every time I dig in I discovered that they do not explain everything. Prices have gone up much faster than inflation for decades even after accounting for government subsidies.

A lot of folks are overlooking one of the largest factors, unlimited student loans for whatever.

As long as people have access to an ever increasing amount of money to use for tuition, it is in those institutions' interests to rise their prices to extract as much as possible.

Whereas other countries tend to subsidize their education at source, that is to say, by funding the schools directly which somehwat obviates the price gouging aspect.

Depends on the school but yes it's ridiculous. For a while it seemed like everyone was encouraged to attend college but now it seems like trade schools are coming back in a big way. I think people realise they aren't going to get anything useful for the time and money they put in for the jobs they want

Because it's worth it!

lol jk

Student loans have dulled price-point as a major consideration for choosing a school. So they compete on other non-academic stuff that tends to raise the tuition like sports, amenities, and prestige.

I'm sure it's not the sole factor, but universities in many other parts of the world are partially subsidised by the government.

Honestly? Because stupid people like you keep paying it. Sounds nasty, but you are paying it, and that's fucking stupid.

Higher Ed is just another broken cog in the American machine. I'm lucky to live in a state that recently made Community College free for state residents that don't already have a college degree.

I'm seriously considering finding a nursing program. I've already been in the medical field for 38 years.