THE BILL IS IN THE MAIL – AT 10:32 A.M. ET:   The cost of "higher" education is now in the realm of madness.  Get this, from AP: 

Duke University students will pay higher tuition bills next fall, with undergraduates paying 4 percent more and those seeking graduate or professional degrees seeing similar increases.

The Durham school's Board of Trustees on Saturday approved the higher costs for the next academic year.

Undergraduate tuition will be nearly $48,000. The total cost including room, board and fees will be almost $63,300. Duke gives half its students some kind of financial help. The private university expects to spend more than $130 million on undergraduate financial aid.

Tuition for Duke's graduate and professional schools will go up an average of 4.4 percent next academic year. Pursuing a master of divinity degree will cost $21,500 and an MBA nearly $61,000.

A year of law school will cost $56,500 and medical school nearly $54,000.

COMMENT:  Please note that only half the students receive financial aid.  That means that the other half will pay about a quarter of a million dollars for an "education." 

Will someone please account for these outlandish prices? 

Will someone do some real reporting, or are journalists completely intimidated by their alma maters and their dream of someday receiving honorary degrees or invitations to give commencement addresses?

I'd imagine the middle class is being devastated by these numbers.  The rich can pay, and the poor, which often includes groups prized by the academic left, are subsidized.  It's the people in the middle who'll be squeezed out.

March 3, 2015