Why do colleges cost so much?

I agree with the first answer. There is not a whole lot of difference between college and a resort these days.

I went to college in the 80's. Rooms were shared, walls were cinderblock, the student center consisted of a dowdy cafeteria, a punk rock radio station, rooms for concerts/lectures/films, and small stinky rooms for student-run clubs. That same campus is now sprawling with extravagant architecture, new buildings, and a student center that dwarfs the old one which it replaced. It is a bit over the top.