4163.566% increase in Tutorial costs

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Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around the significant increase in university tuition costs over time, specifically comparing historical costs in New Zealand and the United States. Participants explore inflation rates, the value of money, and the implications of these changes on affordability and access to education.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants note that the average cost per semester of university in New Zealand increased from $129 in 1950 to $5500 currently, raising questions about affordability.
  • Others provide inflation data, indicating that the average inflation rate in New Zealand over the last 59 years was 6.03%, while university costs increased by 6.57%, suggesting a slight increase above inflation.
  • One participant mentions that in the U.S., tuition and fees exceed $11,000, contrasting with historical costs of under $2,000 per year, but expresses skepticism about the reliability of their source.
  • Another participant calculates a rough annual growth rate of tuition costs in New Zealand and questions whether this aligns with typical inflation rates.
  • Discussion includes considerations of historical purchasing power, with references to what could be bought for small amounts of money in 1950, and how state and federal funding affects actual tuition costs.
  • Variability in estimates of the equivalent value of $129 from 1950 is presented, with different methods yielding a range of modern values, indicating uncertainty in historical comparisons.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the implications of tuition increases, the accuracy of historical comparisons, and the impact of inflation. No consensus is reached on the overall affordability of education or the adequacy of the provided inflation data.

Contextual Notes

Limitations include varying methods of calculating inflation and historical value, as well as differing assumptions about the economic context of education funding and costs.

vorcil
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1950 the average cost per semester of university in New Zealand was 129$ it is now $5500 per semester,
these are averages

strange huh?
what's it like in America? you always see in movies of high schoolers wanting to get scholarships to go to college because they can't afford it

another funny thing, in new zealand, college new zealand = high school american
and university new zealand = college american
 
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In 1950, there was no NZ dollar. Assuming you mean the dollar equivalent, the average inflation rate over the last 59 years in NZ was 6.03%. The average increase in university costs was 6.57%. The average increase above inflation is 0.51%.
 
vorcil said:
1950 the average cost per semester of university in New Zealand was 129$ it is now $5500 per semester,
these are averages

With tution and fees, it costs over $11,000 where I'm at in the U.S. My boss said that when she went to school it was under $2,000 per year. Note I consider her an unreliable source for a lot of things though :biggrin:
 
Flat said:
With tution and fees, it costs over $11,000 where I'm at in the U.S. My boss said that when she went to school it was under $2,000 per year. Note I consider her an unreliable source for a lot of things though :biggrin:

As Vanadium already pointed out you have to multiply by the value of money. If money was about 8 times more valuable back then (reasonable guess), that means her tuition would be more like under $16,000 in current dollars..
 
Flat said:
With tution and fees, it costs over $11,000 where I'm at in the U.S. My boss said that when she went to school it was under $2,000 per year. Note I consider her an unreliable source for a lot of things though :biggrin:

the 5500 is per semester so 11,000 sounds about right, except in us dollars it's probably equivlalent to 15,000 us dollars or something
 
r = (5500-129)^(1/(2009-1950))-1 * 100 ~ 15%

Isn't that bit too much if approximate inflation rate to 6-10%?

oops.. 7%! Just put the number in Google without much a thought. (5500/129). It doesn't look that much
 
Last edited:
And in 1950, you could buy a cup of coffee or an ice cream cone with a nickel, and a piece of candy with a penny. You also have to consider what a typical yearly salary was...in family where only the husband usually worked. With things like tuition, you also have to consider the difference between what students actually paid/pay, and what amount of tuition is covered by the state/federal funds, to figure out the actual cost of tuition, especially in places where education is heavily subsidized by tax funds.
 
In 2008, $129.00 from 1950 is worth:

$1,153.41 using the Consumer Price Index
$957.52 using the GDP deflator
$1,864.18 using the unskilled wage
$3,119.51 using the nominal GDP per capita
$6,263.22 using the relative share of GDP

There's clearly a lot of variability in these estimates, but the range does contain the modern price
 
junglebeast said:
As Vanadium already pointed out you have to multiply by the value of money. If money was about 8 times more valuable back then (reasonable guess), that means her tuition would be more like under $16,000 in current dollars..

Opps, forgot to mention that she is only 10 years older.
 
  • #10
Vanadium 50 said:
In 1950, there was no NZ dollar. Assuming you mean the dollar equivalent, the average inflation rate over the last 59 years in NZ was 6.03%. The average increase in university costs was 6.57%. The average increase above inflation is 0.51%.

:reposts for Vanadium:
 

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