The cost of many private colleges in America has reached $8,000 a year. The median household income in America in 2021 was $71,000 a year. This shows that college is unaffordable. Or does it?

美國私立大學學費已高達8千美元一年。而在2021年，美國的中等家庭年收入為7萬1千美元。這表明，大學太貴了?；蛘哒媸沁@樣嗎？

The consensus view is that America has a college-affordability crisis and things are getting worse. According to the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank, “college costs are out of control”. Bernie Sanders, a senator from Vermont, and other progressives have pushed for free college and loan-forgiveness for years. The White House attempted a costly bail-out of student borrowers which the Supreme Court recently declared unconstitutional. Both sides are telling a similar tale. But it does not reflect reality. Most undergraduate degrees in America are actually affordable, and in many cases going to college is actually getting cheaper.

大家普遍認為，美國確實正在經(jīng)歷一場學費危機，并且情況越來越糟糕。保守黨智囊團美國傳統(tǒng)基金會表明，“讀大學的成本已經(jīng)失控”。這幾年，美國佛蒙特州參議員伯尼·桑德斯（Bernie Sanders）和其他開明人士一直在推動免費大學和豁免學生貸款。白宮嘗試耗巨資資助貸款學生，但最近最高法院宣布這是違反憲法的。他們都發(fā)表著相似的言論。但事實并非如此。事實上在美國，大多數(shù)的大學并不昂貴，在很多情況下，讀大學正變得越來越便宜。

There are three main types of colleges in America: public, non-profit private and for-profit private. Public colleges are much less expensive than private ones. According to US News & World Report, which ranks universities, the average annual tuition fee for students at a public college studying in their home states is about $10,000, compared with $40,000 for private colleges. And most American students benefit from these lower prices. In 2021, 77% of college students (about 12m) were enrolled in public colleges. Some states are cheaper than others. Tuition in Wyoming costs $6,000 per year for residents, whereas Vermont charges $19,000.

美國有三種主要的大學：公立、非盈利性私立、營利性私立。讀公立大學比私立大學便宜很多。根據(jù)給大學排名的《美國新聞和世界報道》，如果學生在自己家鄉(xiāng)就讀公立大學，每年學費約為1萬美元，就讀私立大學約為4萬美元。大部分的美國學生則享受到價格更便宜的公立學校。在2021年，77%的美國大學生（約1千2百萬名）報名進入公立大學。一些州的學費比其他州更便宜。本地居民在懷俄明州就讀公立大學，一年學費為6千美元，而佛蒙特州則需要1萬9千美元。

Public colleges in America look more expensive than most of their rich-country counterparts. America ranks second-highest for fees in the OECD, a club of mostly rich countries, behind England. However, this does not give a full picture.

相對于其他發(fā)達國家，美國公立大學學費看起來非常昂貴。在經(jīng)濟合作與發(fā)展組織（成員國大部分為發(fā)達國家）中，美國大學學費僅次于英國，排名第二。然而，事實并非完全如此。

American universities advertise a sticker price that few students actually pay. According to the National Association of College and University Business Officers, a non-profit organisation, private colleges discount tuition by over 50% on average. And contrary to the common narrative, the net cost (what students really pay) of public and private colleges has fallen (see chart on next page).

很少學生真正支付美國大學所宣傳的標價。根據(jù)非營利性機構全國學院和大學商務官員協(xié)會的數(shù)據(jù)，私立大學學費平均會減少50%及以上。與通常說法不同的是，公立和私立大學的凈價（即學生真正支付的學費）不斷減少（詳見表格）。

Schools with large endowments are particularly generous. According to US News & World Report the average student at Princeton pays $16,600 per year for tuition and fees (compared with a $56,010 price tag), and tuition is free for families making $160,000 a year or less. With these tuition discounts, private colleges can sometimes cost less than public ones, though public colleges are usually cheaper.

被大量捐款的學校特別慷慨。根據(jù)《美國新聞和世界報道》，在普林斯頓大學，普通學生每年學雜費僅需支付1萬6千6百美元（標價為5萬6千零10美元），并且對于年收入低于16萬美元的家庭，學生無需支付學費。盡管通常公立大學更加便宜，但是因為學費大打折扣，有時一些私立大學甚至比公立大學更加劃算。

Americans also have alternative paths to a four-year degree that can help them save money. Students can attend two-year public community colleges for less than one year’s tuition cost at a four-year university degree, then apply those two years towards a four-year degree. The system is flexible: two-thirds of community-college students work and 70% attend part-time. This flexibility is unusual compared with higher education in other countries, says Simon Roy of the OECD.

美國人也有其他省錢方式獲得大學學位。學生可以就讀2年制的社區(qū)大學，這樣費用比在四年制大學中就讀一年的學費還低，然后用在社區(qū)大學的成績?nèi)ド暾?年制大學的學位。這種教育系統(tǒng)非常靈活：在社區(qū)大學，三分之二的學生有自己的工作，70%的學生接受非全日制教學。與其他國家的的高等教育相比，這種靈活性并不常見，來自經(jīng)合組織的西蒙·羅伊（Simon Roy）說到。

Though there are plenty of stories of students being landed with lots of debt for worthless degrees, college generally pays off too. College-educated men earn $587,400 more over their lifetime than men who only graduated from high school (women earn $425,100 more). This is much greater than the equivalent premium in Britain ($210,800 for men and $193,200 for women). “The expected gains from having a college degree are actually quite high in the US because the US is also one of the countries where income inequality is the highest,” says Abel Schumann of the OECD. This inequality makes college-going worth the initial cost for most people.

盡管許多學生因為含金量不高的學位背負巨額債務，他們遭遇各不相同，但是大學生普遍更加賺錢。相比于只有高中文憑，擁有大學文憑的男性在一生中能夠多賺58萬7千4百美元及以上（女性則多賺42萬5千1百美元及以上）。這比同等條件下英國的數(shù)據(jù)要高很多（男性多賺21萬8百美元，女性多賺19萬3千2百美元）。“因為美國是收入差距最高的國家之一，所以在美國對大學文憑創(chuàng)造的收益的期待也很高，”來自經(jīng)合組織的亞伯·舒曼（Abel Schumann）說道。這種收入差距使得讀大學對大部分人而言是值得的。

Why, then, is there a perception that there is some sort of general crisis in college affordability in America? One reason is that country-level comparisons, such as the analysis by the OECD, compare the sticker price of American universities with that of their peers. Sticker prices are rising

while net costs remain steady and, in some cases, drop. A report from the College Board, an NGO, shows that whereas published tuition and fees for private non-profit colleges increased from $30,000 in 2006-07 to $38,000 in 2021-22 (in 2021 dollars), the net price actually decreased from $17,000 to $15,000. The story is similar for public colleges. Published tuition and fees were nearly $8,000 in 2006-07 and rose to nearly $11,000 in 2021-22. Meanwhile the net cost fell by $730.

那么，為什么會出現(xiàn)這種認識，美國的大學正在經(jīng)歷某種大學生支付能力危機呢？一個原因是像經(jīng)合組織等國家級別的對比數(shù)據(jù)，比較了美國大學的標價和同等類型其他大學的標價。標價不斷攀升，而實際價格保持穩(wěn)定，甚至在一些情況下實價下降。一份非政府組織美國大學理事會的報告指出，盡管非營利性大學的學雜費標價從2006年7月的3萬美元上漲到2021-22年的3萬8千美元，而實際價格卻從1萬7千美元下降到1萬5千美元。公立大學也是如此。標價從2006年7月的8千美元上漲到2021-22年的1萬1千美元，而實際價格下降了730美元。

This discrepancy between the sticker price and the net price creates confusion, but it continues because it is valuable to colleges, says Beth Akers of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative-leaning think-tank. Wealthy students pay the full price, subsidising their poorer peers. The higher prices are also good for marketing. Consumers tend to associate higher prices with higher quality. And students (and their proud parents) are flattered by tuition markdowns pitched as merit scholarships rather than discounts.

因為這種情況對大學是有利的，所以盡管標價和實價之間的差距令人困惑，但一直持續(xù)著，美國企業(yè)研究所的貝絲·阿克斯(Beth Akers)說道，該研究所是一個保守主義傾向的智囊團。富裕的學生全價支付全額學費，幫助他們貧困的同學。高昂的學費也是一種營銷手段。消費者們習慣認同價高質(zhì)優(yōu)。學生（和驕傲的父母）更喜歡被包裝為獎學金的學費折扣，而不是直接降低學費。

Yet even with decreasing costs and discounts, college can still seem unaffordable to many. Plenty of citizens in countries with free or low tuition do in fact pay for college. Instead of paying a tuition bill, they pay over time with higher taxes. Americans pay less in taxes, but that lumpsum tuition bill can be off-putting. For those students and their families unable to pay in cash, loans can be an answer. But accrued interest can quickly turn a reasonable cost into an unreasonable one. Here too there is some progress: a new initiative by the Biden administration will prevent interest from accruing on federal loans for people making timely payments.

盡管學費下降并且有一些折扣，但對于許多人而言大學似乎依然超出他們的支付能力。在許多國家，人們似乎享受著免費或者低價的高等教育，但事實上他們確為大學支付了費用。隨著時間地推移，雖然不支付學費，但是他們支付的稅收變得越來越高。美國的稅收比較低，但是學費總價高得嚇人。對于現(xiàn)金不足以支付學費的學生和家長，貸款是一種解決辦法。因為利息不斷增加，原本合理的價格很快就高的嚇人。在這方面也有某種進展：拜登政府提出一項新的倡議，對于及時還款的人，將緩和增加聯(lián)邦貸款的利息。

College does not benefit everyone and the quality is variable. Some for-profit colleges have become notorious for providing little value and targeting poor and non-white students. Students who chose to major in photography (or journalism) at a private college may find it takes a while to pay off their loans once they encounter the job market—but that choice may be worth it too. For the vast majority, though, college is affordable and worth attending.

大學并不能給所有人帶去好處，且質(zhì)量參差不齊。一些營利性大學已經(jīng)聲名狼藉，他們沒有什么價值，主要目標學生是貧窮的有色人種。對于一些選擇在私立大學學習攝影（或者新聞學）的學生而言，畢業(yè)工作后，需要一段時間才能還清貸款-- 但是依然是值得的。盡管如此，對于絕大部分的人，大學花費是能力范圍內(nèi)，且讀大學是值得的。