Supply and demand.
Demand is rising. The number of kids wanting to get into college is increasing, both by simple population growth and by increasing social imperative to.
Supply can’t keep up. The number of school applicants is growing faster than seats to put them in.
Natural economic solution: prices rise. Easiest way to increase “friction” to match demand to supply is raise prices on supply units until enough give up on applying that supply-and-demand balances. This is, as FReepers know and I feel like blathering about, made much harder by Progressives having persuaded gov’t to take over the student loan industry and hand out money like it’s unlimited - prices must go WAY up to get high enough that supply-and-demand balances out.
Between education and real estate, Progressives have this stupidly huge blind spot where they _think_ diplomas and deeds are easily manufactured in great enough numbers that anyone who wants one “should” be able to buy one at an imagined list price. Result is shock that tuition is astronomically high (why not? the money is trivial to get), and mortgages are absurdly expensive in high-demand areas (land: they’re not making any more of it), inducing the cognitive dissonance that “something must be done” as though free money and strictly limited supply can be legislated into luxurious forms at nominal cost.
There are plenty of seats in colleges. The problem is so many people only want name brand colleges. The ‘elite’ colleges are approaching $80,000 and some people believe if you don’t go to one of those, you’ll be a failure. Which is not true. There are many schools that cost under $20,000. If applying strategically, out of pocket cost can be less than that with merit aid.
In the next few years there will be fewer kids graduating HS due to the Birth dearth starting in 2008. The name brand colleges won’t be affected, but the closing of small rural liberal arts colleges will increase. 5-10 already close down every year. The loss of white males going to college is already a problem. As a college becomes more than 60% female, fewer boys will apply there.