The increasing tuition of most college is the result of intentional fraud. When the US Government computes your 'financial need', the two primary inputs are yo

The increasing tuition of most college is the result of intentional fraud. When the US Government computes your 'financial need', the two primary inputs are your parents' income and the cost of tuition. If your parents' income is low enough, then the government will give you a grant based on the cost of tuition. Schools that have low tuition get a smaller check from the government for the same student than schools that have high tuition. As a result, schools push tuition higher and higher, then give grants to students to cover the high costs that remain after the government grant. For example, say school A charges $5000 per year. A low-income student is accepted and maxes out their government grants, the school can get a check for up to $5000. School B charges $50,000 per year. For that same student, they can get $23k per year (or something like that), plus the student now qualifies for subsidized loans to pay for room and board. The school can then give that student a scholarship for the remaining $27k. For this student, the higher tuition school is much cheaper. This isn't a theoretical exercise, this is exactly what Universities have been doing for over 20 years.