The Bottomless College Parent Trap - Commentary

Columnist Daniel Henninger writes:  

America’s favorite sport has become identifying who’s the low man on the totem pole, or whoever seems to be at the bottom of national esteem. The uncoveted spot keeps changing, but there’s little question who’s on the lowest rung now—college parents. College parents today have to be wondering how they ended up holding the short end of the stick. For the parents of college-bound kids, May 1 was decision day, which could mean writing a check for all or part of $60,000 to $90,000 for just one year of tuition, room and board. For many, that sticker-shock moment followed weeks of struggling to complete the federal government’s incomprehensible Fafsa student-loan form, which came amid the proliferation of anti-Israel “encampments” on many campuses to which full-fare parents would be sending their kids.