See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24344612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24344612 . Essentially, the primary driver is states reducing funding to

See https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24344612 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24344612 . Essentially, the primary driver is states reducing funding to public institutions. (A reply to the linked comment shows how this transfers into private colleges costing more, but essentially consider that if UMass Boston ended up being more expensive than Harvard due to Massachusetts reducing tuition support, then Harvard would obviously be remiss if it didn't double its prices. This is not a knock on UMass Boston, an excellent institution that nonetheless does not carry the prestige factor of Harvard.). So the problem is: 1) states are the only entities that can quickly (< a generation) create universities whose degrees broadly confer the benefits expected when purchasing a college degree, 2) states are cutting funding for higher ed. QED we are more likely to end up with fewer colleges in 10 years than even as many as we have now.