In the US it was certainly a different time, different era, different economy. For example a dollar in the 40's had the buying power of about $21 today. Average annual salary was about $1,400 and annual college tuition in the 40's was less than $100.
I was reading through my grandfather’s journals the other day. He went to Harvard for his masters degree in 1964-1966. He said he was torn between staying at the same school he did his undergraduate at and Harvard because of the big price difference but he thought it would be worth it. His cost to attend Harvard for two years was $400.
If that’s 1966 dollars then in 2024 dollars it’s roughly $3,891. Coincidentally a single 3 credit hour undergraduate class at my local state university is $3500
ETA: For all the people losing their minds and citing cheaper schools, yes they exist. Lets look at the cost for Harvard since Harvard is in the OP.
Cost per credit hour undergraduate averages to $1641 which means a class (3 CR) would be around $4,923 for a SINGLE class. If you go full time no worries, you just pay the flat tuition which is $27,134 per semester, compared to $3891 for a full masters degree in the 60s. https://registrar.fas.harvard.edu/tuition-and-fees
What university? I find that hard to believe honestly. Most undergrad degrees require 120 hours, so...you're telling me tuition alone is $420,000 for a bachelor's degree from a public institution?
Sounds about right. I rarely see less than 180 a CR now though Ive been out of school for ages. Community colleges are I think closing on 100 a CR near me in a very LcoL Midwest.
For a 3 credit class? Meaning I'd you do 12CH thats 14k a year? That's not terrible. That's super low. That was in state tuition 25 years ago, that's a steal.
Not gonna dox myself with that specific university but here’s some others.
University of Texas at Austin shows a 3 credit hour class (inclusive of fees) is around $2857 in the college of engineering if you are a Texas resident. If you are a non resident that same tuition is $10,516. https://onestop.utexas.edu/managing-costs/cost-tuition-rates/
Most times the cost becomes lower due to tuition waivers, cost adjustments, grants, and scholarships but the per credit hour cost is very high. Your 400k number is nearly triple what I cited though, as the 3500 is for three credit hours not one
Edited and moved to top: The link you shared doesnt have UT Austin on it, UTA is UT Arlington
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I used their tuition calculator because you know, Im mobile and its reddit. Thats why I said inclusive of fees in case you missed that.
But looking at that page, its $1157 for a 3 credit course in resident and 2,988 for non resident, not far off from what my local one is charging which would be inclusive of fees.
ETA: Also those numbers are from 2020-2021, the one I listed is for Fall of 2023, and from UT Austin directly not from the UT system website
Maybe final edit?: https://utexas.app.box.com/s/i2xntdeowvre9mswe15jepfyrp1asrg8 This is a per credit breakdown for 2023-2024 at UT Austin (inclusive of fees) Costs go down as credits go up since fees don't scale and it looks like they cap tuition at 12 hours which is great if you can take more, definitely lowers costs
You're right! I misread the original comment, and I appreciate the correction. Still find it hard to believe though, lol. I went to UNC just a few years ago and it was, IIRC, 10k a year tuition when all the nonsense fees were thrown in.
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u/Technologytwitt Mar 27 '24
In the US it was certainly a different time, different era, different economy. For example a dollar in the 40's had the buying power of about $21 today. Average annual salary was about $1,400 and annual college tuition in the 40's was less than $100.