The latest National Report on Higher Education says that

Many American colleges and universities require applications for the fall term to be completed by January 1st. But some have deadlines of December 1st. A research group in California released its latest National Report on Higher Education. (17) The report says the price of college has increased more than four hundred percent since 1982. Costs have climbed much faster than other prices—as well as the wages of average families. (18) The group warns that extension of these trends would put higher education beyond the reach of most Americans. And it would mean greater debt for those who do go to college. The report also expresses concern that the United States is losing its leadership in sending young people to college. (19) Earlier progress can be seen in the percentage of Americans aged thirty-five and older who have a college degree. In a comparison of twenty-nine countries, the United States is second, after Canada. But today other countries are making progress more quickly. (20) The United States is tenth in the percentage of college-educated adults aged twenty-five to thirty-four. And it is seventh in the percentage of eighteen to twenty-four years old in college.