[originaltext]Hungry for the brightest students, many of the country’s stronger

Hungry for the brightest students, many of the country’s stronger universities are actively discounting tuition. It’s the high achievers, rather than the needy students, who are getting the money. The practice is remarkably widespread, reaching almost all but the 30 or so Ivy and other elite colleges that ban merit-based financial aid. Schools are also becoming more aggressive in promoting their discounts. At the DePauw University Website, enter an SAT or ACT score, grade-point average and class rank, and a computer program immediately tells you what kind of “award.” Only “the really unlucky” pay full price, says Kenneth Redd. About 76％ of first-year students got some form of discount this year at 331 private schools. Average award per student:＄7 000. At small schools with tuition under about ＄20 000, it is even higher, with some schools returning over half their tuition revenue. Carnegie Mellon even tells students it will “negotiate” and perhaps match financial-aid packages if kids are offered bigger awards at other schools. Much as banks and insurers offer special rates to their best customers, schools are giving the biggest breaks to their top students. Public four-year colleges, too, are offering discounts. The flip side of big discounts is that less money is available to improve academic programs and keep school infrastructure up to date. Mr. Redd says he found that universities that have sharply increased their tuition discount rates have seen graduation rates fall, and that’s true even among highly selective schools. “They get the students in the door, but don’t have the services to keep them,” he says.
9. Who will get the chance to pay less for their tuition?
10. What is the average award each student gets at the 331 private schools?
11. What is the big problem with large discounting?