this post was submitted on 18 Aug 2026
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United States | News & Politics
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It’s pretty crazy, my mediocre state university had an all in (tuition, housing, food, books, etc) cost of $17k/year when I went 20 years ago and it’s up to $42k/year now. And that’s the in state price, out of state would be $60k/year, though I can’t imagine who would pay that.
Between financial aid and internships I came out of college with less than $20k in student loan debt. It’d be far worse these days.
And by “all-in” do they just mean tuition and sundry fees, or does that include textbooks, food and housing?
If you have to ask if an American system’s price includes feeding, supporting, or housing the kids involved, I think you already know the answer.
Well, in at least one example, it includes health insurance, which is mandatory, and you have to actively get excluded if you already have coverage. That’s $5k right there.
Besides this a lot of schools require you to be on their overpriced housing and meal plans.
The school I attended recently, which is not listed in the article, but quite similar, has been tightening these policies because of "community" and "food security" and supposedly aligning themselves with historical tradition (but they have been allowing juniors and seniors to live off-campus and off the meal plan for decades at this point). But it's easy to see through their fake benevolence and notice their profit-driven intent.
“Would you like an extended warranty with your purchase of a degree?”