Phillip Hoffman

A member of the Philip Greenspun's Homepage community since April 14, 2000

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April 14, 2000, on Tuition-free MIT:
Free tuition is a great idea, but how does it really work in a public university context? At UW, the undergraduate educational cost is about $10,000 per year per full time student. The student, if they are paying their own way, pays a tuition of $3,008. Those with financial need, may receive financial aid (overly weighted to loans I might add) to cover their entire cost of attendance including tuition. This cost of attendance (housing, transportation, food, books and tuition) runs about $12,500 per academic year. But all, without question, receive a discount of $7,000. If they paid the full educational costs, the total cost of attendance would be $19,500. Of the educational costs, either the student or the state pays. Current trends have the burden of educational costs being shifted by the state from the state (a perfectly rational behavior if you care more for low taxes than you care about a well educated citizenry) to the student (i.e. tuition goes up faster than state c...