Bravo for Yale and Harvard, but what about the rest?

0 Comments | USA TODAY, January, 2008 | by Robert J. Birgeneau

How much should a family pay for a college education?

Harvard University focused the discussion on college costs with its bold announcement that it is extending financial aid to families earning from $120,000 to $180,000 a year. Costs for tuition, fees and room and board will be capped at about 10% of family income. Following Harvard's lead, Yale and other elite private universities are responding with various measures to extend financial aid to more students.

The vast majority of Americans, however, are educated in public universities that cannot provide the financial aid packages of private universities with large endowments. Ironically, it could become more expensive for a student from a family of low or moderate means to attend a public university than for...