Friday, January 8, 2010

So What's It Gonna Cost Me? (JKHA/RKYHS - Part 2)

In the previous post, I showed that if a family today had 4 children in 12th, 10th, 8th, and 6th grades in JKHA/RKYHS, their total tuition bill would be $71,280.  But, what about that parent whose eldest child is currently in Pre-K for the 2009-2010 school year and is "only" paying $12,285?  How much can they expect to pay in the 2022-2023 school year when their children are in 12th, 10th, 8th, and 6th grades?

If tuition and all other costs go up 0% year on year: $71,280
If tuition and all other costs go up 1% year on year: $81,123
If tuition and all other costs go up 2% year on year: $92,208
If tuition and all other costs go up 3% year on year: $104,677
If tuition and all other costs go up 4% year on year: $118,686
If tuition and all other costs go up 5% year on year: $134,409
If tuition and all other costs go up 6% year on year: $152,035

I don't know which number is more accurate, but I feel it's closer to 4%-5%.  I'd be interested in hearing from tuition paying parents what their average year on year increases have been.

9 comments:

Light of Israel said...

Thank you for all of the work you have done.

Part of the problem, is that unlike you, most parents do not think how much yeshiva tuition is going to cost them in the future.

I think that if you did the same analysis, but show the progression of the bill, ie in year one just pre-k, it would become clear how parents don't realize the real cost of yeshiva tuition until they have 3 or 4 kids in the schools.

The problem is, by that time, you are pretty commited to the school and you lack incentive to seek alternatives that cost less.

Keep up the good work.

Anonymous said...

its scary - i have lived the life

annonymommy said...

You can also check out The JEC in Elizabeth. They start in pre-K and have separate sex schools for high school.

As for tuition bills, it is usually helpful to ask parents. Most parents will tell you how much they are paying. I also agree that it would be nice if schools posted their costs on their web sites, but that doesn't seem to be happening.

Tuition Talk said...

Annonymommy,

Let me know if you have data on the JEC as they are one of MANY schools that don't publish tuition info online. If you have, please email me at tuitiontalk at gmail dot com and I will gladly do an analysis.

fordeval@aol.com said...

This argument relies on a faulty syllogism. Tuition will go up, tuition is already very "expensive", and therefore we're doome in the future. The future is not as bad as you think... and here's why.

Tuition will obviously rise over time, though in Bergen County there was no increase for 2009-2010 for most schools. Tuition increase should not be inherently upsetting or shocking to anyone. If we set tuition at 1970 prices, there wouldn't be any schools in business. Tuitions have to go up. It's about the rate of increase that matters and here's why: Examining only the expense side of this equation (as this blog post has done) ignores the fact that the revenue side (namely, salaries) tend to rise over time as well. It's called inflation. Not to get too "mathy", but a pack of baseball cards used to cost a nickel. Today, they're a dollar and I don't feel intimidated about the costs of buying one for my son. Maybe because my salary is higher than the 50 cents a day our grandparents used to make.

The key to managing tuition expenses is keeping the rising costs close to the inflation rate. If salaries go up 5% and so does tuition, that's both manageable and reasonable. If salaries rise at 3% and tuition jumps at 10% (as it has over the past few years), we will compound the already-laboring parents who are trying to pay tuition.

You (Tuition Talk) already have a compelling argument about tuition costs being too high. Don't try to strengthen your arguments by considering future impact/potential ... you'll only end up watering down your message.

Tuition Talk said...

fordeval,

Yes, you are entirely correct. I suppose I didn't feel it needed to be said, but you are right; the "year on year" increases only matter if they rise at a rate greater than salaries increase.

Unfortunately, I believe yeshivas have, until this year, increased tuition at greater than this rate. However, it is hard enough getting tuition data from most schools; it is even harder to get historical data.

If you have any historical data, it would be greatly appreciated. If I had the data, I would love to do a post on this issue.

Orthonomics said...

I've tracked rates for a while. In the past ten years, the increases where I am have hovered right around 6% annually. Last year the increase was below that amount, which was cause for a pat on the back. I imagine that rates will continue to increase again this year, but would love to be proven wrong.

Tuition Talk said...

Orthonomics,

Putting together a post right now on this. Believe it or not, your percentage increase is a bit low.

Stay tuned.

Anonymous said...

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