Many private colleges are admitting more applicants to ensure full enrollment

Many private colleges have admitted more students than usual this year, hedging their bets as they wait to find out whether families find higher tuitions difficult to manage in the recession.

[cktirumalai]

Even state universities are no longer all that inexpensive, even if you are an in-state applicant. Financial aid looks set to play a larger role in the years to come.
A personal observation: during my years of teaching at Dickinson College (1967-84), I found a considerable distinction between those students who were mindful of the high tuition and therefore applied themselves to study and those who took a rather more casual attitude.