(ZEROHEDGE) – College tuitions are negotiable. For the past 20 years, colleges have discreetly offered discounts, when pressed or motivated to attract certain students. Competition among colleges in recent years has increased the practice of discounting significantly, and the size of discounts is greater than ever. Covid has of course, accelerated the trend. To maintain enrollment numbers, public, state run colleges have increased discounting through what is referred to as ‘institutional aid’ while many private non-profit colleges are now discounting tuitions by more than 50%.
Tuitions at state colleges can run up to $20,000, while private colleges are topping out at $80,000. Full price is also referred to as ‘sticker price’, though less than 10% of families ever pay that full amount. Various forms of ‘aid’ are available and can reduce tuition very significantly, so every parent should absolutely find out what forms of aid will be available to them. More on that later. Scholarships are over-rated, not nearly as accessible as many families are led to believe, and when they are available, it’s usually in the form of a one-time benefit. You can’t count on those monies for 4, 5 or 6 years.
And then there is the negotiated amount of ‘institutional aid’. Every college has an institutional aid budget, and it literally is a discount plan that they can apply with significant discretion. If a parent doesn’t ask, they won’t get it. Schools dole out institutional aid when they need to top up their enrollment numbers, basically fill seats, no differently than an airline.
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