The Johns Hopkins University's announcement this week that it will increase its tuition for next year by 7.2 percent - the largest percentage increase since 1987 - will assure the school its place among some of the nation's most expensive.
With its new tuition of $33,900, Hopkins is pricey, but likely not pricey enough to earn a spot among the 10 most expensive colleges and universities in a listing by The Chronicle of Higher Education this fall. Among those on the list were George Washington University at $36,400, and Sarah Lawrence, Kenyon and Vassar, whose tuitions of more than $33,000 could also go higher next year.
"It really is not as daunting as you might think when you first see the price tag," said Tina Bjarekull, president of the Maryland Independent College and University Association. With student loans and financial aid, she said, private colleges can be affordable.
Congress might have made that process more difficult when it cut student aid by $12.7 billion this week, raising interest rates on student loans and giving banks lower subsidies for the loan program.
The cuts, Republicans argued, would largely be borne by banks and other lenders, an idea disputed by Democrats who said that students and their families would feel the pinch.
"This is the biggest cut in the history of the federal student loan program," said David Ward, president of the American Council on Education, an umbrella group for public and private colleges and universities.
A council lobbyist, Becky H. Timmons, said, "Students will be paying higher interest rates than they are currently paying."
The rate would be fixed at 6.8 percent for students and 8.5 percent for parents. The current rates, which vary with market conditions, are several percentage points lower.
About 80 percent of students who attend private institutions in Maryland get some sort of financial aid, Bjarekull said. Most institutions try to help families put together financing so that students don't graduate with debt that becomes overwhelming, she said.
On the Hopkins undergraduate Web site is the question, "Can I afford Hopkins?" The answer, the school tells parents, is to file an application for financial aid.
Other colleges and universities have tried different approaches to steady the nerves of parents facing the college tuition bill.
For instance, George Washington University will guarantee freshmen that their tuition won't go up over the four years they are taking classes.
