By Laurent Berstecher

It is no secret: going to college is becoming an increasingly expensive choice. NYU’s recent tuition hike for 2012-13 is simply following the trend, as the average cost of attending college in the United States has increased tenfold in the past 60 years. In 1950, a year at NYU would have cost a mere $496 (this represents about $4,500 today,) while the 2012/ 2013 tuition for Stern Business School, is estimated at around $51,562.

The phenomenon is not NYU-bound, and tuition has been steadily increasing in both public and private universities around the country. According to FinAid, tuition costs are raised by an average of 8% a year at the national level.  In retrospect, NYU’s 2012-2013 4% hike, the lowest in years, may not be that bad. But 4% of $50,000 is still a lot of money.

Seeing no realistic end to ever-increasing tuition fees, it may be tempting to ask where all the money goes. As far as NYU is concerned, the school depends on tuition for most of its expenses, since it does not benifate from large endowments like most of its competitors. Thus, NYU president John Sexton has constantly been reminding his students that their money is necessary to maintain the university’s standards of excellence.

While those tough financial conditions may discourage many from pursuing a college education, NYU has seen its numbers of applications steadily increase over the past few years. There is thus no real risk for the school to run out of students, and tuition does not look like it will be dropping anytime soon.

However, there is good news for those of you who benefit from scholarships or other financial aid, as they have been increased accordingly to match the new tuition costs. Meanwhile, national student loan debt is silently growing, reaching a record $1 trillion in April 2012.

At first glance, the email seems to be a 2000-ish words lyrical tirade praising the awesomeness of NYU while reminding students of the incredible, once-in-a-lifetime opportunities offered by the school. Among other things, Sexton heavily insists on the international character of the University, which has campuses in Abu Dhabi, Shanghai and London, and plans to open two new ones in Australia and Washington D.C. by the end of the year.

In case the true value of NYU’s international character escapes you, this quote from Albert Cotungo, chair of the Student Senator Council, should help open your eyes:

“I‘ve been to six countries since coming to NYU.  To really understand and know things about the world, I think it’s important to explore and learn about it from varying perspectives.  You can read all you want about world poverty and privilege, for instance, but you won’t understand it – feel it - until you drive by a neighborhood consisting solely of cardboard-box homes.”

Thankfully, NYU is here to open your eyes. How exactly remains a mystery, but it will. I can imagine that after spending a semester abroad in Abu Dhabi, anyone would come to realize that their parents’ three-bedrooms is in fact a “cardboard box” of sorts. Don’t you feel your tolerance levels rising already?

Oh, and they are going to need an extra $1,000 a year from you.