MU tuition up 3.5%

[jficke13]

Wasn't advocating bailing out the endebted, merely pointing out that this supports my contention that the cost of education is a systemic problem, and no amount of handwaving changes that.

Anecdotal but a couple of my lawschool classmates posted this on FB today: "Sometimes when I want a good laugh, I go see how much my loans have increased since I graduated law school. Despite my diligent, on-time payments every month for the last almost eight years, my loans have increased $52,725.21." And another classmate commented "Mine are up about $80k since graduation even though I pay every month."

[MU Fan in Connecticut]

This was in today's paper.

[rocket surgeon]

Nobody pays sticker

----

Private Colleges Offer Record Discounts as Tuition Costs Rise
Big grants for freshmen help students but hurt schools' budgets
https://www.wsj.com/articles/private-colleges-offer-record-discount-prices-as-tuition-costs-rise-11557428871?mod=article_inline

Tuition-discount rates for first-time, full-time freshmen hit a record 52.2% in the current school year, according to preliminary results from a National Association of College and University Business Officers survey of 405 private, nonprofit schools. The 2018-2019 figure is up from 50.5% in the previous year.

Over the past decade, the average institutional grant for first-time freshmen has increased to more than $20,000 this year, up from about $10,600 in the 2008-09 year. About 90% of freshmen received grant aid from private colleges and universities in the 2018-2019 year, according to the study. Those discounts, on average, cover about 60% of the tuition and fee sticker price.

then my whole family, including father, brother, sister-in-law, and both sons are all nobodys    i guess someone's gotta pay the bills

[Cheeks]

Well we still have farmers planting stuff even though we keep bailing them out...

Yeah, yeah.  I know it's not the same thing.  But we seem to want to spend money in the name of keeping a healthy economy when it comes to one class of people, yet totally want to overlook the economic benefits when it comes to another.

We pay people to do a lot of things, including not working....but that's another story.  And yes, sorry but there are different treatments for different people often based on many things.  Your creditworthiness dictates what kind of loan you can get...how much and what rate....yes, they are treated differently that other people.  One size fits all doesn't work.  That is just one example.  Fairness sounds great, it's also financially suicidal.

Loans are a fundamental aspect of responsibility, and if we are going to teach people to spend on things (education, homes, cars, etc) and Sammy is going to say you don't have to pay for it....we're finished financially as an economy.   We've already seen through our history on multiple occasions what happens when we over-lend, reduce requirements, and induce people to buy stuff they cannot afford.   Quite frankly, we are doing this in the educational system, too....and the schools are LARGELY a part of the problem.  Charging outrageous amounts of money for degrees that have no ROI while students accumulate debt along the way.

[jesmu84]

Well we still have farmers planting stuff even though we keep bailing them out...

Yeah, yeah.  I know it's not the same thing.  But we seem to want to spend money in the name of keeping a healthy economy when it comes to one class of people, yet totally want to overlook the economic benefits when it comes to another.

Farmers. Automakers. Banks. Etc.

[The Sultan]

Farmers. Automakers. Banks. Etc.

Right.  But somehow it's a moral hazard because its a loan and not a handout.   

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in favor of it.  But the mental gymnastics that people go through to justify helping some while denying others is amazing.

[Cheeks]

Let's look at the numbers.

65% of students graduate with $28K in debt.  35% with no debt.  So all graduates recently have $18k on avg with 65% holding the notes.  10 years to pay off that amount at very low rates.  Avg college grad starting salary more than accommodates for this debt payment along with other life essentials.

This idea is simply bad policy.  Worse, it punishes those who already paid theirs off...teaches a terrible lesson on responsibility.  It also punishes those that took on more debt and joined professional career path...doctor, lawyer, dentists, etc...you are screwed because all the debt you risked meant you landed a great high paying career as a result of your education...sorry Charlie, you don't qualify.  But hey, if you are that Philosophy and Baltic Studies major, step right up for some goodies.

[NYWarrior]

What percentage of current students are paying full sticker price? 

I thought I read somewhere that it was less than half and the "average" tuition bill is in the high $20k?

No student at MU pays full sticker price. MU doesn't publicly disclose its full tuition cost; the face value of tuition is already discounted by drawing from the endowment in real-time. This is called the 'discount rate' - the % at which MU buys down tuition for any student. For example, the Marquette Fund and 'immediate need scholarships' that are created/funded go directly to off-set tuition (as does a draw from the endowment).

MU has been trying for some time to decrease it's 'discount rate' to help its endowment grow. This is not an MU issue, btw -- every (at least) private university grapples w this same challenge.

[jsglow]

We pay people to do a lot of things, including not working....but that's another story.  And yes, sorry but there are different treatments for different people often based on many things.  Your creditworthiness dictates what kind of loan you can get...how much and what rate....yes, they are treated differently that other people.  One size fits all doesn't work.  That is just one example.  Fairness sounds great, it's also financially suicidal.

Loans are a fundamental aspect of responsibility, and if we are going to teach people to spend on things (education, homes, cars, etc) and Sammy is going to say you don't have to pay for it....we're finished financially as an economy.   We've already seen through our history on multiple occasions what happens when we over-lend, reduce requirements, and induce people to buy stuff they cannot afford.   Quite frankly, we are doing this in the educational system, too....and the schools are LARGELY a part of the problem.  Charging outrageous amounts of money for degrees that have no ROI while students accumulate debt along the way.

Word.

[The Sultan]

No student at MU pays full sticker price. MU doesn't publicly disclose its full tuition cost; the face value of tuition is already discounted by drawing from the endowment in real-time. This is called the 'discount rate' - the % at which MU buys down tuition for any student. For example, the Marquette Fund and 'immediate need scholarships' that are created/funded go directly to off-set tuition (as does a draw from the endowment).

MU has been trying for some time to decrease it's 'discount rate' to help its endowment grow. This is not an MU issue, btw -- every (at least) private university grapples w this same challenge.

This isn't entirely accurate.  Marquette does most definitely disclose its full tuition cost.  It's right here:

https://www.marquette.edu/about/tuition-costs.php

What Marquette doesn't disclose is its "net tution revenue," (ie, how much money it actually receives per student after scholarships)  Here is likely how this works using made up numbers to get the point across:

Revenue

Tuition & fees:           $100,000,000
Less: Scholarships        (40,000,000)
Net Tuition and fees:      60,000,000
Endowment income        10,000,000
Other Revenue               50,000,000

Total Revenue              120,000,000

In other words, the endowment is going to be used to offset scholarships only if the specific donor endowments are to be used for scholarships.  Otherwise, the difference is just part of their operating income

[NYWarrior]

This isn't entirely accurate.  Marquette does most definitely disclose its full tuition cost.  It's right here:

thanks, i didn't realize that.

[mu_hilltopper]

This was an interesting article on Purdue / tuition.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/mitch-daniels-purdue/606772/

[The Sultan]

This was an interesting article on Purdue / tuition.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/mitch-daniels-purdue/606772/

UW System has had a tuition freeze for in-state undergraduate students since 2013. 

[StillAWarrior]

This was an interesting article on Purdue / tuition.

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/04/mitch-daniels-purdue/606772/

So far, so good. That'll take us through my daughter's junior year.  I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we don't get soaked her senior year.