Why are most private university tuition low in most European countries but high in US?

Question

wynning · Accepted Answer

Not a lot of people talk about it but International students are cash cows at private universities everywhere. I'd imagine the reason tuition is lower in most European countries is because of funding and grants which are fueled by taxation.

EmmiL · Accepted Answer

Capitalism

Kelley1 · Answer

I don't know about other countries, but in the USA, tuition has increased much faster than inflation due to (1) government involvement and (2) the belief that all students should have the right to attend college.

First, government involvement: Whenever and wherever the government gets involved, the cost skyrockets. The government passed Title 9 and to comply with Title 9, colleges eliminated men's sports that people paid to attend to give scholarships in women's sports that few people outside of family would attend. Even in college basketball that does have some interest in the women's game. Tickets for the men average almost $100 and 18,000 attend the games, vs, $5 tickets for the women's game (even less for season tickets) that only 1,500 attend.

Next, so students could pay tuition, the government passed a law that made bankruptcy for student loans almost impossible. That was because banks would not lend money for student loans without collateral or other means of collecting. If bankruptcy were allowed, most students with large student debts and few assets would discharge their student loans by filing for bankruptcy; thereby causing banks to become insolvent.

With millions of students being able to pay tuition with student loans, the colleges greatly increased the cost of tuition to pay huge sums for college coaches, often more than ten times what college professors earned, and a large increase in staff. Most are positions that didn't exist before easily obtained student loans.

Second, with the belief that to have a good life, you need a college education, the number of students entering college doubled and then quadrupled, when in fact, most students received degrees with little or no demand and almost no market value.

Finally, there is the belief that truly exceptional students, the one in 10,000 with IQs approaching 150 and above, should be allowed to attend college regardless of their and their family's ability to pay. That is because those are the students with the potential to contribute great value to society. In the past, those students would work part-time and receive scholarships to attend college.

They still receive scholarships, but the scholarships have been greatly expanded to not only include the one in 10,000, but the one in fifty. As a result, elite colleges such as Harvard, Princeton, and MIT have a "needs-blind" admission policy. However, do they really have a "needs-blind" admission policy? After all, colleges need money to operate and most of their money comes from tuition.

The nation’s top private universities have long faced an awkward dilemma: They purport to be meritocratic institutions, educating the best and brightest regardless of wealth, and yet year after year, they enroll a student population that skews wildly toward the affluent. Research from a few years ago found that Yale University had 33 times as many rich kids as poor kids; Duke University had 18 times as many; and Brown University had 17 times as many.

These colleges nevertheless insist that they welcome students of all financial backgrounds, citing as evidence their “need-blind” admissions — meaning they don’t discriminate in admissions against low-income and working-class families who cannot possibly pay sticker prices of $80,000 a year. However, it appears that to have the money to operate, the elite colleges are admitting students from wealthy families, that otherwise would not meet their admission requirements

Lynx122 · Answer

Well the U. S. they wanted to make education accessible but they only thought one step ahead. Once student loans were a thing universities could raise their prices. Once Universities started raising their prices they had a ton of money coming in so they started investing it in sports facilities and whatever else so that they could outcompete other universities to attract more students and make more money. So now it's become this cycle. And the problem in the U. S. is that once a law is in place that has financial benefits for some group of people it will never get changed because of the money in politics so once a mistake is made, even if it's a well intended first step to a solution it's just gonna be abused and stay like that for the rest of time pretty much :D.

In other countries Universities might be publicily funded so the government can keep costs low or there's regulations about how much can be charged. Or the publicly funded universities re just so competitive that others don't have a choice to lower prices. In Switzerland it's publicly funded. It's not free but affordable.

OneViewpoint · Answer

Because the US is an extremist Capitalist system. Education is a for profit business designed to keep people mired in debt from the moment they reach adulthood. In fact education is the lynchpin of the entire system. Get the peasants in debt before they even earn a penny. Then sell them over priced million dollar homes. $75,000 cars. Artificially manipulated inflated energy. Obscenely overpriced healthcare. Anything to keep them working to generate profits for the 1% until the day they die. Then take the assets of the dead so that no descendant will ever accumulate generational wealth. The whole thing works great. For 1% of the population.

ohsheeT · Answer

I really do love America I despise every single politician.
Some deeper than others.
There's going to be a big lesson here
We are the richest. We are the greedest
We are a third world country.
We have smart people.
In our country could be the richest. It could be the best and every aspect

But are leaders decided to Keep everyone poor You think if you're poor you don't have a brain.
To do anything about what they are doing.
Well, we're going to see about this, I guess?
Because they are destroying us from the inside out. The real sad part about it is youis there other countries that are following us they're doing the?
It's all over greed.

If they keep their people dumb.
Poor Uneducated.. hungry they believe we will follow instead of lead

matchrestore · Answer

There really is a wide range of tuition costs for private schools in the United States, and the financial aid available can make it even harder to determine which ones are a good value and which are not. My undergrad was at a private college affiliated with the Lutheran Church. The financial aid package they had made it less expensive for me than most of the state schools I looked at, even though the base tuition rate was much higher.

Anonymous · Answer

The US is a classist society that wants to keeps those that are low - lower.

As long as the people are uneducated and struggling to get by, the less time they've to be thinking about what the top is doing and the can rake benefits to them.

Education, financial stability - these is a huge ass privilege few Americans will ever experience having and that is how their fellow citizens want to keep it. "If my neighbour gets less, then I might get more" - seems to be the common mindset.

FreyaRed · Answer

It's not everything gold that shines. There are other limits like internship where you need money or connections. Passed study diploma alone is often not enough.

Surely · Answer

I would suppose that those schools are there to give their students an education. Not to be a money tree for their professors, directors and what ever the higher ups are called.
When Biden wanted the hard working taxpayers to pay off the college loans. He should have been asking the colleges to lower their tuition!

Douglas1180 · Answer

Simple answer? Because America doesn’t settle for mediocrity wrapped in bureaucracy. We actually believe in excellence, competition, and American-made success, not watered-down, government-coddled education systems designed to keep everyone equally average. I'll take the institutions that produce empire builders, thanks.

Maybe_Maybe_not · Answer

Historical reasons. Different societal philosophies at play, the American dream is the story of the self-made persons. A self-made needs to keep the collective at bay. Whereas Europe has, historically, a stronger focus on solidarity. Concretely, more taxes, more infrastructure, which alleviates social costs for everyone.

It doesn't prevent EU people to grumble about taxes lol !

Nikki1989 · Answer

America fails at most things, in education, in healthcare, in living standards, and of course, in the level of crime and that it's more obvious failings and this is coming from someone who was born and raised there.

BloodyMary6 · Answer

It’s how real owners operate, they want obedient Workers smart enough to do paperwork and run the machine. But not how many people getting railed. It’s called American Dream cause you gotta be a sleep to believe it.

Shiprex · Answer

The European states believe that a well educated populace is a collective benefit and not necessarily an individual one so it supports the provision of higher education financially. It also gives the states a bigger input into the content and competence in the institutions themselves that many private for profit universities don't have the oversight to or intent to achieve (they want to indoctrinate instead of educate)

LiamJHayden · Answer

A huge part of it is likely that the U. S. government gurantees loans for even the most useless of degrees, so the lending institutions have almost zero risk. Because of this, they do not vet borrowers, allowing for a massive influx of new money (check what marginal banking is) specifically into education. More money chasing the same purchases eqauls higher prices.

Lucy68 · Answer

See this is why I voted for Bernie Sanders back in the day and still support him

Bricealan · Answer

@kelly6 Only a guess, Kelly, but I will bet the private schools are subsidized by the EU on most countries... as is Airbus' which is subsidized by the European Union.

XXblack88 · Answer

Probably cause they want to keep the riff raff out. I'm not 100% sure thou

exitseven · Answer

I do not know but private colleges have way too may administrators. Some run feel good programs that do nothing to enhance the educational process.

Sun_Kim-Ai · Answer

Beats me. There's been an hyperinflation on the cost of education for at least 25 years in the US.

MrChinaski · Answer

The USA doesn't look after its own. I've dropped about 1/2 big on my kids' high school education... university is practically free here. I guess different countries work differently.

convo_king89 · Answer

Probably because other things are paid for by taxes like healthcare and I’m sure it’s regulated by the government not expensive administration. And I’m sure they get gov funding for research and donors.

RedInnocent69 · Answer

European governments value education and subsidize it. Americans generally don’t value anything

AviatorTom · Answer

European governments help fund education much more than US governments do.

Anonymous · Answer

Because public universities receive state funding so the out of state tuition is the same cost as private tuition. Plus, you can just get student loans and it can never ever be discharged in bankruptcy so it’s a win-win for the university

jahaims · Answer

Predatory loans. Basically the government set up predatory loans as student aid. They prey on undeveloped brains to sign a debt contract.

PaleDale · Answer

Europeans pay higher taxes. That's why things like healthcare and education are much more affordable in Europe.

OddBeMe · Answer

Government funding.  You could fly to Armenia right now and enroll in English speaking courses for free.

AngryCarl2 · Answer

I'm guessing because everything in the US is a ripoff.

Mrtcn01 · Answer

Because Europen county based on social state approach but usa does not

chocolatetwopointo · Answer

cuz y'all dont pay taxes like we do, thats also why y'all have to pay millions when getting hurt

Anonymous · Answer

It can still range between £15,000 and £45,000 not sure if that's cheap.

Bklynbadboy12 · Answer

Universities are expensive everywhere is not just in America please don't kid yourself

Aldan1609 · Answer

Lower taxes in US, higher school bills, it all evens out

Anonymous · Answer

European governments value indoctrination over critical thinking.

worldscolide · Answer

It boils down to greed.

Samantha_17 · Answer

Because it is a 100% capitalist country.

chrissykerdock · Answer

better in Europe

rizzzz007 · Answer

In this era education is just a business.

Lilly1979 · Answer

Cause in US education is a business.

ilistengood · Answer

Because we are greedy imperialist pig dogs,, grins

Ironic_Method · Answer

Greed and corruption, mostly. It sucks.

Anonymous · Answer

Stuff is always overpriced here in the US.

austinbooth · Answer

My bet is they want more money in the US

FunkyMonkee · Answer

Greed!!

BobbyLee789 · Answer

people don't like to pay high taxes in the US

WonderingManII · Answer

No idea.

Sal_Monella · Answer

Democrats.

msc545 · Answer

Capitalism.

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