Democracy Dies in Darkness

Attention, college shoppers. These schools are slashing their prices.

January 21, 2019 at 5:53 p.m. EST
Students eat lunch in Randall Hall on the campus of St. John’s College in Annapolis, Md. (Michael Robinson Chavez/The Washington Post)

As soaring tuition scares off many families, a growing number of private colleges have embraced a marketing tactic associated more with selling airline tickets or flat-screen televisions than higher education: a price cut.

St. John’s College slashed tuition from $52,734 in this school year to $35,000 in the next.

The liberal arts school, with campuses in Maryland and New Mexico, joined more than 20 others nationwide that have reduced prices in the past three years.