Wealthy Colleges' Largess Draws Rebuke

Robert J. Massa, Dickinson College's vice president for enrollment, has been critical of merit scholarships, especially for those who can afford to pay the full price. (Dickinson College)

"The feds have absolutely, positively no right to determine what colleges should charge," said Reecy Aresty, the Florida-based author of "How to Pay for College Without Going Broke."

"If the Southern Consortium, the Big Ten or another group of schools put a freeze on tuition raises, that would help," he said.

Massa, of Dickinson, has been particularly critical of the merit scholarship competition that leads many private schools to discount tuition to attract the best students, even those who can afford to pay the full price. Massa has pointed to progress in cutting back his merit scholarship costs, but some critics note that his school and its competitors have not stopped such practices altogether.

"Colleges like Dickinson are forced to keep up with the Joneses by maintaining first-class dorms, gyms, dining halls and other amenities," said Joie Jager-Hyman, author of the upcoming college admissions book "Fat Envelope Frenzy."

"These schools pay higher faculty salaries relative to their public counterparts and generally maintain lower student-faculty ratios because that is what consumers want," she said. "All of this contributes to rapidly rising tuition."

Sharing costs sounds good, some experts say, but can backfire. The Claremont Colleges in Southern California have found that "cost cutting has hurt us in things like the U.S. News ratings because we therefore spend less and get a downgrade in things like student resources," said Bruce J. Poch, vice president and dean of admissions of Pomona College.

Parents might have to change their attitude about expensive extras if the problem is to be solved, said Boyle, the College Parents of America president. "Our message to schools should be that we care about the quality of the words spoken in the classroom, not the grade of carpet on the floor of the classroom," he said.