DailyDime

College tuition has risen more than 3x the rate of general inflation since 2000. The families footing the bill are borrowing more than ever.

Here’s a number worth sitting with: in the year 2000, the average annual tuition at a public four-year college was under $4,000. Today it’s nearly $11,600, and that’s just for in-state students at public schools. Private colleges average closer to $40,000 in tuition alone, with total cost of attendance at the priciest schools now topping $90,000 a year. Adjusted for inflation, college is still more expensive than it has ever been. The question isn’t whether tuition has gotten out of hand. The question is why, and what families can actually do about it.