You would be surprised at how many private liberal arts schools are north of $40,000 / year and how many people pay full pay. Even schools that are mid to low

You would be surprised at how many private liberal arts schools are north of $40,000 / year and how many people pay full pay. Even schools that are mid to low tier are charging a lot for a 4 year education. I suspect that many of the low tier and some mid tier schools will go out of business in the next 5 to ten years. Some schools have gone under already. Getting alumni to donate is getting harder for raising money and schools rely on not just the fees they charge but also donations[0]. This site will allow you to see private versus public schools and has estimates for fees and room and board (living expenses). Just page through a few pages and you will see that for private schools most schools add up to more than $30,000 / year and many more than $40,000. Many the schools you will not recognize their names. The cost of college is out-of-control. Some private schools many are "need based". What that means is that if your effective family contribution (FASFA Calculation [1]) is less than the estimated cost of attendance [2,3,4] then the school will provide financial aid for the difference. The financial aid may be in the form of tax credits, student debt, grants (like a scholarship), scholarships, exchange for student employment and more. Many aid packages are a mix. Schools that load up students with debt are doing a very bad service to the student, their families and society. 0: http://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/compare/tables/?state=MI&degree=Undergraduate&type=Private&level=4-year%20or%20High http://www.collegetuitioncompare.com/compare/tables/?state=M... 1: https://fafsa.ed.gov/ https://fafsa.ed.gov/ 2: http://www.olin.edu/admission/costs/cost-of-attendance/ http://www.olin.edu/admission/costs/cost-of-attendance/ 3: http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/cost.html http://financialaid.richmond.edu/prospective/cost.html 4: https://www.elon.edu/e/admissions/undergraduate/financial-aid/index.html https://www.elon.edu/e/admissions/undergraduate/financial-ai...