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There's been a lot of discussion here about colleges never cutting tuition "sticker prices". I just ran across an article on the home page of NYTimes College titled Nest Eggs Have Shrunk. But Tuition Bills Haven't. Much of the article covers the same ground as our How Much Debt threads, but one item kind of stuck out. The article reports,
Bethany College in Bethany, W. Va., announced one of the largest tuition cuts ever reported by a private college: it is cutting tuition for its incoming freshmen next fall by 42 percent, to $12,000 from $20,650.

Clearly, this is the other side of the supply/demand relationship, but I think it is refreshing to see a school whacking away at its sticker price instead of raising prices while at the same time dumping more cash into financial aid programs. There's a nice, fundamental honesty in this approach, and I hope it works well for them.

The rest of the article is moderately interesting, too, covering topics like increased use of PLUS and other loans, lack of financial planning for college costs, etc.

By amd on Wednesday, December 19, 2001 - 11:44 am: Edit

"There's a nice, fundamental honesty in this approach"

Well said. A fundamental honesty is what is missing in the approaches of most colleges.

"I hope it works well for them."

I do too.

By Dadster on Wednesday, December 19, 2001 - 05:28 pm: Edit

Good article. It would be nice to think the Bethany cut would set off a chain reaction in other schools, but if they DON'T see a jump in applications, no college will ever cut tuition!

By Mark Y on Wednesday, December 19, 2001 - 06:46 pm: Edit

What worries me is that the kid in the article who is going to St. Joseph's University already borrowed $28,000...and she's only a freshman...