Since he implies the information wasn’t online (or at least he didn’t get it from online), I’m going to post this so it’s there to be found.
These are “comprehensive fees”, meaning tuition plus room and board for a full-time student, meaning 9 months of the year. In addition to this, you would have had to buy textbooks, clothing, paper and typewriter ribbons and pens, and transportation to wherever you spent the summer. Plus living expenses for the summer (most people got summer jobs to pay for that and save to cover some of the year). Plus anything beyond absolute necessities you were going to have, like stereo systems and records and cameras and film and going to science fiction conventions. Or taking dates to dinner. Or whatever.
So, here’s the inflation of college tuition form 1972-2009 as viewed narrowly at Carleton College. This information came from the college archivist in response to a query I posted on the alumni email list. I attended Carleton 1972-77 (with some time off in 74-75).
Not from online, but by going back to the printed catalogs:
[edited to add 58/59 and 62/63 numbers from a later email]
1958/59:Â $1,700
1962/63:Â $2,250
1972/73: $3,825
1973/74: $4,000
1974/75: $4,200
1975/76: $4,600
1976/77: $4,900
1977/78: $5,277
1978/79: $5,725
1979/80: $6,175
1980/81: $6,940
1981/82: $7,980
1982/83: $9,260
1983/84: $10,200
1984/85: $10,900
1985/86: $11,880
1986/87: $12,800
1987/88: $13,640
1988/89: $15,230
1989/90: $16,950
1990/91: $18,250
1991/92: $19,620
1992/93: $20,900
1993/94: $22,155
1994/95: $23,375
1995/96: $24,425
1996/97: $25,410
1997/98: $26,325
1998/99: $27,195
1999/00: $28,230
2000/01: $29,340
2001/02: $30,780
2002/03: $32,445
2003/04: $34,395
2004/05: $36,975
2005/06: $40,467
2006/07: $42,864
2007/08: $45,645
2008/09: $48,039
2009/10: $50,205
Eric Hillemann
College Archivist