The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-11-23
COLLEGE EDUCATION.

Tuition Little Bearer Than Fifty Years
Ago-More Money Spent on Living.
College authorities agree In saying
that the cost of tuition has increased
very little in the last fifty or seventy
five years. It is the improved style OF
living that makes students expenses
much greater. Although more books
are required now than were need hall
a century ago, books are SO much
cheaper now than they were then that
the increase in this item is hardly per-
eeptible.
The outside expenses. including board
and lodging. as well as incidentals. are
much less in country than in city col
leges. The country colleges are those
situated in small towns. of which
Princeton is the most prominent ex-
ample in the east. and city colleges are
of course those located in large cities,
such as Columbia. Harvard and Yale.
The extremes of the total annual ex-
penses of a student at Harvard, Column
bia or Yale, which are good examples
of the city college, are put at $3.50 for
the lowest and $4,000 for the highest.
to deprive himself of almost all luxu-
ries and amusements and to eat tho
cheapest food, while the 81 600 student
lives very much in the style of wealthy
New York or Boston family. But both
of these estimates are extremes. The
poor student spends usually from $3.50
to $500 in the scholastic year. and the
wealthy one from 50, 500 to So. 900. There
are said to be some, but only few,
students at Harvard whose annual ex-
penses exceed $4,000 a year.
The necessary expenses of a COM
paratively poor student in one of the
city colleges are itemized as follows
for the scholastic year of thirty-eight
weeks: Tuition. $3.50; room rent with
chuml, 500; table board. $3.50; coal
and gas, $50; text books, $a5, and al
though these items amount to only
$4l7 in the aggregate, the cost of wash
ing, clothing, travelling expenses and
incidentals brings the total to at least
$500 a year. For the wealthy young
man the tuition is the same, $3.50; room
rent $500; table board, 50 week. S304:
subscriptions to college enterprises,
club mem berships. theater tickets, sup
pers. $500. This last tie m is usually
the heaviest in the city college mans
account. A private servant, horse,
fuel. books, clothes and incidentals
rapidly run the total up to So, 900 with
out any great exertion on the students
part.
This does not apply, of course, to tho
free city colleges. and at Yale the ex-
penses are from $50 to 500 year less.
These are the expensive colleges of
the country, and yet to call them rich
mems colleges would be doing them
an injustice, for the aid they give
every year to poor and deserving
students is very great. This aid is
given in the form of prizes. scholar
ships, and presents, each donation
ranging between $40 and s2s5 in va lue.
Harvard alone gave the poor students
last year more than sss. 200. 1t must
be said for all the American colleges,
cheap or dear, city or country. that
deserving and studious men are seldom
compelled to leave them for want of
funds.
In the county colleges the expenses.
both necessary and unnecessary, are
much Flower. Tuition is cheaper, and so is
board, room rent and fuel. There are
no theaters are other expensive places
of amusement, and the extras that are
SO large an item in the city become
very SMALL
The expenses at Princeton and Am
herst, both large country colleges,
range between $3.50 and 81. 300 a year
At the lowest estimate room rent with
a chum is SIS; tuition, 500: meals at
club at So week, STA: books, SIS: fuel
and lights, SIS; subscriptions, SIS: ex-
tras, $40; total $500: to which must be
added clothes, washing and furniture.
But as the expenses are less in the
country colleges, so is the pecuniary
aid generally less, although large
amounts are expended in this way in
country as well as in city. The stu
dent in coun try college has chance
to earn little money for himself. He
may get membership, worth from $50
to 5000 year, or he may have an OPP
portunitv to teach country school.
These chances seldom present them
selves in the cities, where there are
many applicants for every vacancy
Besides the expenses that have been
mentioned there are certain graduating
expenses ranging between $35 and
$3.50, this item being smallest in west
ern colleges.-Pittsburgh Dispatch.