However, this increase in total charges is less than the 2006-07 increase of 4.9 percent, and the 2005-06 increase of 5 percent. Princeton attributes its ability to freeze tuition to gains in its endowment which, at the end of the last fiscal year, was $13 billion.
Amherst College's endowment, which is over a billion dollars, provides about 30 percent of the operating budget. College Treasurer Peter Shea estimates that annual tuition increases in the last few years have been roughly between 4.5 and 5.5 percent.
Because expenses continually rise, it is uncommon for colleges to freeze tuition rates. In 2000, Williams College announced a tuition freeze for the coming academic year, reportedly hoping that it would pressure other wealthy colleges to hold down their prices. Since then, Williams has resumed tuition increases and its total charges are roughly similar to Princeton's.
"It primarily benefits families that pay full tuition and those families that use loans to finance college," said Amherst College Professor of Economics, Steven Rivkin, of Princeton's tuition freeze. With regards to how such a move might affect competition within higher education, Rivkin said, "I think people are very responsive to other institutions when they change prices for lower income students. I don't think students from higher income families are going to be very responsive to small changes in price."
While some anticipate that Princeton's decision will prompt peer institutions to adopt similar policies, others are dubious, in light of Williams' failed attempt.
Shea does not expect that the College will follow Princeton's lead. "Our board hasn't met and approved a tuition yet. The trustees and the administration do worry about the costs that families have to pay, but freezing tuition and raising room and board are not the solution to that problem," said Shea. "Our financial aid policy tries to address the issue of access and affordability by providing aid. If you're accepted at Amherst College and you have a financial need, the College covers that cost."
"It is not really clear, from my perspective, what [Princeton's] objective was," said Joe Case, Amherst College of Director of Financial Aid. "Perhaps it was to make a public statement that 'we have the resources, so we will turn that back to everyone by not increasing the cost of attending, or at least the tuition part.'"
"It's a way of reducing the financial burden," said Jean-Marie Davy Hebe '10. "Given that the cost of college is already so high it wouldn't make that much of a difference. "I think it would be preferable if money went to financial aid instead of to freeze the actual expenses."