These have been the best of times for many of the nation's top universities--and the worst of times for middle-income families struggling to afford them. Thanks to a robust stock market, school endowments have ballooned. Yet few institutions have held down steep increases in tuition. But that may be changing.
Williams College, a prestigious liberal-arts school in Massachusetts, announced last month that for the first time in 46 years, its tuition would remain steady at $31,520. Last week students at Princeton University learned that their annual $31,599 tuition, room and board will rise just 3.3%--the smallest hike in 30 years.
These...