re: Informative read about Auburn from the Wall Street Journal $$$

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The administrative bloat is where I think there is some deserved ire but I have that problem with basically every organization and governmental entity

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Would be extremely interesting to see the DEI budget.

If I was to look at going to college now or becoming a welder, I would become a welder. Quicker to start getting paid. If you are willing to go to the work you can make some great money. Especially if you are good at it and can do all types of metals.

When demand goes up - prices go up.

Auburn is a wonderful school in a wonderful town with wonderful people.

I am very fortunate my kids all got tuition scholarships to attend.

It still hurt the wallet but not that bad compared to others.

I could not have afforded Auburn as my parents did not graduate college and did not pay my way. I had to do that on my own but thank the Lord it was cheap back then.

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I’m not positive at AU

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They aren’t required to

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Yup. I have a son at Georgia Tech. He’s a straight-A student and scored 1480 on his SAT. I wouldn’t even let him apply at Auburn. When we looked at tuition and costs it made absolutely no sense. Auburn has lost their fricking mind in a lot of ways. It’s crazy.

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Its pretty bad if Georgia Tech is cheaper than Auburn.

Going to college is a rich man’s game nowadays, trades are the future if you want to make money. Kids these days want to be a YouTube or TikTok star and don’t want to get their hands dirty so it’s economics 101, supply and demand.

Lot of truth resonates in this post. I need to at least dabble in some kind of trade. Fix washing machines or something. They only last 3 years these days.

"The Journal examined colleges, ranked by net price, among four-year public universities with at least 1,000 undergraduates, excluding satellite campuses"

Just a guess, but I suspect that Auburn may have been the highest net-price school that fit this criteria which had granular budget data published (at least, until 2016, that is)

This is such a poorly written and sourced article. Auburn is spending a lot of money, Auburn is expensive. We are in a state that does not fund Higher Ed evenly or well. The values are mostly from 2016.

But Auburn is in high demand. We accept 45 percent of applicants, Bama accepts 90 percent. Our graduates make more money that most SEC schools.

Auburn could use a larger endowment to fund scholarships, that is not easy to do. It has been growing, do you give to Auburn scholarship funds? Should Alabama raise taxes? (I agree we need a lottery).

Colleges are businesses and Auburns model has been great. Administrative staff has increased along with federal regulations and requirements. How do we compare to other colleges?

Should we accept more students? Give more scholarships? Where does the money come from? Take money from athletics? (We should reduce fees paid by students).

Bottom Line: I am proud of what Auburn has built. The best University in the state and one of the best in the SEC. WAR DAMN.

All colleges have administrative bloat.

All colleges have gone nuts with amenities.

I don’t think Auburn is unique in monetizing every possible angle.

Will college kids be kind of disappointed in their housing when they go to work?
Will they be able to afford daily meals at AU Bon Pain and the like?

In the old days, life style creep was something you dealt with in your late 20s and 30s, now they have to deal with it on graduation.

My rich friends lived in the same crappy apartments and trailers that I did at Auburn. College was more like going to a rustic camp back then. Just the basics. A bed, spartan food, etc. student center was a ping pong table, some folding chairs and a TV. It’s gotten silly.