Now, $30,000 Diplomas

College costs, up 77% in a decade, are still soaring

Long before the first dormitory opened to signal the start of a new academic year, tens of thousands of parents had received those familiar and depressing envelopes with word from the college of their offspring's choice: tuition, room and board. All due immediately.

Naturally college bills this year turned out to be the highest ever. The average cost of education at a four-year private college has increased 6.1% over last year and has soared 77% since 1968. And for the first time, at some of the most prestigious private institutions, tuitions alone have edged up past $5,000--not including the spiraling costs of food, housing, books, transportation, plus a little entertainment on the weekends. These necessities, on the average, add around $2,500 to the final tab, though prices vary wildly from school to school and from student to student.

The 1978-79 cost of the ten most expensive undergraduate schools in the U.S., including tuition, fees, room and board:

M.I.T $7,630

Bennington 7,540

Harvard 7,500

Yale 7,500

Sarah Lawrence 7,440

U. of Pennsylvania 7,300

Stanford 7,299

Brown 7,225

Princeton 7,217

Dartmouth 7,180

While the figures are staggering, there are still a few ways at least to soften the college tuition crunch. The College Board notes that almost any family, even one with a gross income in excess of $35,000 a year, might be eligible for some combination of grants or loans, depending on the number of children in college, among other financial considerations.

Families can also turn to state schools. Many public colleges offer splendid education for less money, but not all that much less. This year the University of Delaware actually cut its tuition for instate residents by $60 in order to attract more students. But overall costs at public four-year colleges have climbed almost as much as they have at private institutions during the past decade. Though tuition, room and board at public colleges average around $2,000, many run quite a bit higher. Samples: the University of Vermont ($3,192), the University of Wisconsin ($2,583), the College of William and Mary in Virginia ($2,804), and Southern Oregon State College ($2,411).

Relief of a sort may also be on the way from Washington. After months of debate, Senators and Representatives are now in the final stages of approving a tuition tax credit scheme. If it passes--and then survives threats of a presidential veto --parents could write off as much as $250 a year for each member of the family enrolled in college. By 1980, that credit could be as high as $500. And so it goes.

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