Reply #32: not too much. [View All]

In the mid-70s, both a state school I went to and a private school were about $2K a semester for the dorms & meals; the big diff was the tuition. The University of Houston was $4 a semester hour in the mid 70s; it's a giant state school.

I graduated from a very small private liberal arts college, Trinity University.
It was $125 per semester hour when I graduated in 1979.

From the website:
•Trinity has been rated one of the nation’s best buys in higher education by publications including the Fiske Guide to Colleges, U.S. News and World Report, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
•86% of Trinity’s students receive financial aid.
•The University distributes over $37 million in financial aid annually.
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Present on-campus fulltime costs:
2010-2011 TRINITY UNIVERSITY UNDERGRADUATE COSTS*
(Undergraduate On-Campus Full-Time: 12-18 credit hours)
Tuition $29,832.00
On-campus Housing (double occupancy) $6,896.00
Light Meal Plan (includes sales tax) $3,416.00
Fees $180.00
TOTAL DIRECT COSTS $40,324.00

Books & Supplies $950.00
Personal Expenses $1,050.00
TOTAL INDIRECT COSTS $2,000.00

TOTAL COST of ATTENDANCE $42,324.00
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I went to a private law school from 1980 through 85 at night. Tuition when I started was $75/semester hour and $125 when I graduated. Law school is 90 semester hours. I think you had to pay for a min. of at least 8 semester hours even if you were taking less, and working during the daytime, as I was.
I think I spent about $10K for tuition and about $2,000 on books. This is a freestanding school which is not attached to a university and has no dorms.
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I probably paid as much or more for my daughter's Montessori education from age 3 until she moved to public school in 8th grade, as my parents spent on my college.

She got her B.A. from a state school.