Tuition Heading up a Steep Ramp?

It would be useful if you would redraw the graph plotting tuition and financial aid (“Financial Aid: 13 Questions,” December 2013) beginning as far back as there are data. In the early ’70s, I managed without parental support to pay my way with small savings, reasonable loans, work in the summer, and a modest financial aid award. My hunch is that the graph would show only a slow increase at best for many years before my attendance. What happened to send tuition up a steep ramp at Reed, as well as at many other institutions?

—Creg Darby ’75

Seattle, Washington