[JeffInCorvallis]

Isn't the whole college cost and financial aid business a bit of a game with some attempt at social engineering thrown in? Let's face it, if 85% of undergraduates are receiving some aid to attend college, you could accomplish the same thing by simply reducing the cost of college, making it more affordable for everyone. There are several reasons this is not done:

1. The prestige of being able to offer 5 and 6-figure scholarships to students with desirable characteristics such as high test scores and good grades. Not so much for Stanford but for universities trying to get to the next tier of respectability/ranking/reputation.

2. Social engineering - colleges want wealthy families to subsidize the not wealthy by paying full freight and lessening the burden for other families. Not a bad idea overall, but is this really the job of colleges in our society?

3. Student loans are big business. Companies that make loans make lots of money and in most cases you cannot default on student loans.

4. The sense that you get what you pay for. If the cost to attend College B is 50% that of Stanford/Harvard/MIT, it must somehow be an inferior education in some people's minds, whether that is really true or not.

[JeffInCorvallis]

Isn't the whole college cost and financial aid business a bit of a game with some attempt at social engineering thrown in? Let's face it, if 85% of undergraduates are receiving some aid to attend college, you could accomplish the same thing by simply reducing the cost of college, making it more affordable for everyone. There are several reasons this is not done:

1. The prestige of being able to offer 5 and 6-figure scholarships to students with desirable characteristics such as high test scores and good grades. Not so much for Stanford but for universities trying to get to the next tier of respectability/ranking/reputation.

2. Social engineering - colleges want wealthy families to subsidize the not wealthy by paying full freight and lessening the burden for other families. Not a bad idea overall, but is this really the job of colleges in our society?

3. Student loans are big business. Companies that make loans make lots of money and in most cases you cannot default on student loans.

4. The sense that you get what you pay for. If the cost to attend College B is 50% that of Stanford/Harvard/MIT, it must somehow be an inferior education in some people's minds, whether that is really true or not.