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Comment by peter_l_downs | Hacker News Reader

"How did this happen?" — because the market will bear it. High sticker price + financial aid for 65% of students just makes it easier for a college to price discriminate, which is overall a good thing. And as the article points out, most students don't pay anywhere near as much as a Vanderbilt full tuition, so in a sense it really doesn't matter. The article does a good job of explaining this.

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You can't say the market is bearing it when the college market is being sustained by government-backed funding via student loans. If the market were really bearing it, government's involvement would be minimal to non-existent.

The people paying $100k are not doing so via government-backed student loans.

I don't understand this. When Harvard or CalTech says that anyone admitted will not be turned away due to financial hardship, it's because the loans are issued with a qualification based on their admission. 100k or any other price, the current financing structure remains the same.

At Caltech, students from families making $90K or below, will receive a no loan financial aid package (package will consist of grants and work-study).[0]

[0] https://www.admissions.caltech.edu/afford

I believe Harvard also guarantees some students (from families below a certain income level) don't need to take out loans.

They guarantee that for students from families making about $120K or less, which is to say nearly two-thirds of the country.

True, but what percent of their admitted class?

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