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Paul’s Answer
Keep in mind that this is just my opinion but I would say that the cost of attending college has always outpaced the cost of living and inflation because colleges compete with each other to attract the best students. A few examples:
- Colleges have been investing more money in their facilities including bigger and better dorms and larger classrooms. In addition, they have been putting money into amenities to make the campus more appealing to students such as landscaping, fitness centers, gyms, etc. All of these improvements mean schools have to raise tuition to cover the costs.
- Colleges have also been increasing the salaries of tenured professors and other staff members for competitive reasons as well. This cost gets passed onto the students.
- Colleges know that their rankings in U.S. News as well as other publications weigh heavily on a student's decision on whether or not to attend their school so the colleges will do what is necessary to boost their rankings. This includes spending more money which again gets passed onto the students.
- State colleges have seen their funding from state governments cut as the legislatures try to balance the budgets. This shortfall gets passed onto the students.
Again these are just my opinions so you may want to do some research to see if you can find data to support my arguments.
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