Originally Posted by
Jarhead
I pray that it doesn't. From my experience paying tuition, I started out paying nada, zilch, nothing. The GI Bill would give me a free ride. Even if I paid tuition, it was only $500, the limit that the Veteran's Administration would cover. They also paid a stipend of $75 per month. Based on covered time served in the military. I had 51/3 years of eligibility. Other costs, such as books and supplies were covered, but reduced eligibility a token amount. This was under the WWII GI Bill in the fall of 1949.
To Duke's credit, they kept the tuition at that level until there were no more WWII vets applying for admission, some time around 1955. I had been reactivated in the Marine Corps in 1952, and by the time I could get back to get my degree in the late fifties, tuition had increased to $1,500. That's 200% in about 3 years. Today's rate, $55,000 about, has kicked up about another 3,500% in 55 years, counting with my fingers. Am I right? How does that compare with inflation over that period of time? I don't know. That's an important point. I'll try the car I purchased in 1954, a new '55 Bel Air that cost $2,350. An equivalent car today might cost about 28,000. That's up about 1,100%. That doesn't make the $55K look good, does it? The comparison is probably not fair when one considers the value added to a Duke education over the years versus the value added to the Chevrolet. So there must be another way of looking at it, as cspan37421 has discussed earlier this evening.
Then there is the problem with those massive endowments that so many universities have. Could those endowments be a source for funding for more financial aid? I don't know about the policy and economic issues that would be involved, but I'm just wondering.
An aside, before I go -- I've noticed some changes in this composition screen. I approve, and have used one of the new wrinkles. It's late, and I feel as if I am rambling, so goodnight folks.