Lawmakers Push to End Discriminatory College Pricing

Higher education institutions hire consultants who implement yield management tactics similar to those used by the hotel and airline industries.

Students walk through Sproul Plaza on the UC Berkeley campus in Calif., on March 14, 2022. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Two high school seniors with a B-plus average and similar extracurricular activities get accepted to the same four-year private college. Their household incomes are nearly identical.

One would pay $29,700 a year to attend the school, while the other would pay $51,000. What gives?