You may have heard about Harvard's change in tuition policy.  In short, "under its new program, to take effect next fall, ...undergraduates whose families earn up to $180,000 a year would be asked to pay 10% or less of their incomes annually for the cost of Harvard, which now totals $45,620."  It is pretty certain that the other Ivies will soon follow suit.  

I just read a really interesting article in the WSJ that talks about why this policy came about and what the likely implications are for the future.  Some of the main points were:

**   "The boards and administrations of the well-endowed schools can safely and proudly proclaim their independence" because "the investment managers are getting annual returns well in excess of 20%. This is more than the alumni of any of those institutions could possibly contribute, and by an enormous margin."

**  "A scholar who follows these matters closely recently told me that he anticipates that the elite private colleges and universities will, in the not-too-distant future, stop charging tuition to any student whose annual family income is below the top 5% of all American families -- currently around $200,000."

**  "What this means is that the cost of the educational Mercedes will be less than the educational Ford. And when Harvard is cheaper than Fairfield, how can Fairfield increase tuition each year...?"

Ok, so this may be pretty big.  I'm sure all of you know that UD is sitting very pretty and will likely come through this shift with flying colors.  Schools like Wilmington College, that currently cost more than UD, will have a lot more trouble.  I also wonder what will be done with International Students.  Currently, European schools are far cheaper than their American counterparts and take less time to graduate.  They are also increasing their reputations.  Will the tuition break extend to International Students or will they be expected to pay full tuition as they are expected to pay now?

I also look at this from a personal perspective as I have a potential Ivy League candidate (*see footnote) depending on me for support.  On the one hand, it's good news since the tuition would have been crippling.  On the other hand, I think about how cut-throat the competition will be for slots at the Free Ivies and like caliber institutions.  I see how the current situation has lead to a frightening decline in morality - where parents are even involved in lying and cheating on behalf of their kids.  There is a girl in Eden's class who's parents clearly complete almost all of her homework assignments for her and whose father almost ruined their Odyssey of the Mind team by trying to write the script for the kids.  I don't just find myself shaking my head about this; I find myself being worried sick that my kid is competing with this kid...or rather she is competing with a 40-something year old man with an Engineering degree.  Not too fair.

What about the other kids that do not walk on water?  Will they have to pay through the eyes to go to a state school?  Delaware aside, most state schools could never reasonably stop charging tuition.  When Harvard abolishes tuition for those making less than $200,000, there is still a significant number of their students who are above that threshold.  That is not as true at state schools.  State schools in Florida and California are hamstringed by the fact that the state legislatures hold their tuitions at artificially low levels, especially in-state.  Could they afford to not collect tuition?  In Texas, they will probably have to cancel or drastically change their assistance program for state residents because they cannot afford to fund it.  Certainly most schools in TX also could not afford to go without tuition.  Will state taxes have to be raised to keep the state schools afloat?

And one more random thought...what will happen to athletics?  I know tons of student athletes that said they wanted to quit but couldn't because of their scholarship.  I also know people who switched from non-scholarship to scholarship sports.  What would happen if college were free.  Of course people will participate in sports, but I still feel like there will be an impact.  NCAA will probably be forced to change its rules about athletes receiving outside compensation.

I think we are in for interesting times...

*edited to clarify that I am really talking about Carson.  Ted and I are already bracing for Eden to announce her plans to attend La Sorbonne and study French Poetry.  I still hold out hope she will consider American University in Cairo's Egyptology program, but I think that will end up lower on her list, what with having the stink of parental approval.