NPR : Colleges Face Challenge of the Class Divide: "All Things Considered, February 6, 2007 � In the United States, a good education at an elite private college can be a gateway into the upper class. But that education is also very expensive. Tuition and board at the most prestigious colleges now top $45,000 a year. That's even a stretch for many upper-middle-income families. At prices like these, many colleges risk becoming bastions of the rich and super-rich. Like other elite schools, Amherst College in Massachusetts has struggled to become more inclusive by trying to level the economic playing field for students. Amherst College President Anthony Marx sees class as one of the fundamental problems facing American colleges and universities today.
'I think everyone in higher education is aware of the growing economic divide in this country, and the challenges that divide creates for institutions that want the best students from across the society,' he says."
