[jeremytliles]

I think the comparison with housing is interesting, especially given the social status implications. RE: tuition vs. CPI, I think it has been pretty well documented that tuition increases have far exceeded CPI, at least over the last 20-30 years.

It would be interesting to also examine what educational institutions will have to do should they come under pricing pressure. If tuition has to go down, how can they increase revenues from other streams or cut costs?

And as Howard Lindzon alludes to in the comments, is there a social cost? Is there an important element of kids achieving quasi-independence in the shelter of a university setting apart from the educational material itself, and if so how can this be replaced?

[kmano8]

Maybe signing up for a few years of service work helps replace this. A number of my peers made the decision to pursue a year or two of service after graduating from undergrad, where a wide range of jobs are available (working at an orphanage, teaching at an inner city school, etc). Not only does this give you some social awakening (albeit, not quite the same as party school xyz), but now you're benefiting society a bit more too.

[klodolph]

I hope your peers aren't unaware of the class privileges they are enjoying. Getting an undergrad and then going into a low-paying service job is tough if you're poor.