The classic academic dream seems to hearken back to the days of learning for the sake of learning, enlightening oneself for one's own betterment, calling upon noble images easily likened to The School of Athens. Athough romantic notions of classical antiquity and the Renaissance remain, modern students of all disciplines are charged with much more than the task of bettering themselves-namely, thousands of dollars. As Ron Lieber explained in a September 2009 New York Times article, college tuition has soared recently. State schools have been steadily raising their prices, and private schools continue to raise their costs higher and higher with no end in sight. Yet there are still students lined up to enroll in private, more expensive universities like Brandeis. It isn't any secret that private universities are businesses; hence, there is a vested interest in the University's mere continuation, for administrators and professors would be in a poor position if their university failed financially and was forced to close. The question, then, is this: In what positions do rising prices put students and universities?

Recent events have made it harder than ever for students in lower-income homes to go to college. Schools with money troubles have been reconsidering their scholarship programs, ruling some in need out of a chance. For instance, the $30,000 scholarship fund at Berkeley has been under consideration for a $6,000 cut. Due to the poor economy, loans are harder to receive than they once were, making payment plans a much more difficult affair. Universities with on-campus housing for freshmen rule out the possibility of lower-income students finding cheaper housing off campus; other nickel-and-dime rules like dining plans and exorbitant parking costs compound these issues. Many universities have seen the number of students applying shrink, another suggestion of changing economic times. Students from more affluent backgrounds will find themselves in different positions, though perhaps not in ultimately superior ones. As schools face harder times due to trouble with endowments and other donations, those parents capable of paying out of pocket are becoming an increasingly central focus. Since funds are tight but necessary, university administrations have been put in the position of responding carefully to parents' demands, frequently challenging housing issues such as available amenities and roommate problems, admittance into competitive sports teams and unacceptable grades. The Seattle Post Intelligencer quotes Beverly Low, the dean of the first-year class at Colgate University: "Where before parents would drop their kids off to college and get out of the way, parents now constantly call her office intervening in a roommate dispute or questioning a professor's grading system." This is a familiar economic situation in a capitalist economy. The poor do without, and the wealthy upper and middle classes wield the philosophy of "the customer is always right." Yet the students in both of these scenarios face extremely difficult prospects: Without college degrees, the poor will find themselves in an incredibly restricted range of jobs; the wealthy will find themselves in the much less hospitable professional world as our future doctors, lawyers, business leaders and potentially anything else.

Solutions are difficult to come up with. In a capitalist system, there must always be poor, and there will be a class of wealthy folks. For some time, members of society have found this system acceptable. But now that education is a commodity, one might find the power of the wealthy over businesses sharper-and possibly more dangerous-than ever.