ABSTRACT
American colleges and universities past and present have relied on student tuition payments as a primary source of annual operating revenues. A result is a tradition of student consumerism in which applicants vote with their feet and pocket books in choosing what they can afford to pay in the decision of where they will choose to enroll for college. The equation is complicated by the inclusion of student financial aid in the form of grants, loans and work study programs – all funded by a mix of federal programs, individual donors, and institutional funds allocated to student aid. The essential balance is that of “price” versus “cost” – key terms often used as synonyms, but in fact, markedly different. With “price” referring to what the student actually pays to the college, and “cost” indicating how much a college spends to provide a service, the result is a creative tension in which student consumerism acts as a powerful factor in who goes where to college – and which colleges thrive and survive.
