system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5: Why is college tuition so high in the US? What does all the money go to? What would be the easiest, most effective ways to make it cheaper?

What parts of the school make it so expensive to run?

I've never sat down to figure it out, but it's hard to imagine it could actually cost $40k/year to give someone an education. Especially at a research institution - often, half of the grant money that professors get for research goes to their department (that's true for Northwestern at least).

Edit: it'd be great if anyone had numbers on this. Are there any university financial office execs out there? I went to a small school where nobody working there was making anywhere close to Ivy League money and the "list price" was still $28k/year. (Of course most don't pay full price, but the school still *gets* that money, be it from federal loans or some scholarship fund.)
gpt
The extra money goes to amenities (gyms, pools, food services, concerts, parks - basically anything that isn't basic teaching facilities and salaries).  This makes the college more appealing to those applying, so they can raise tuition.

As colleges get more expensive, federal loans are made easier to obtain so students can still enroll.  As federal loans are made easier to obtain, colleges are able to add more amenities and raise tuition.  Positive feedback loops are bad.