The cost of tuition at Columbia and NYU has passed the $50,000 mark; a year at NYU now costs $50,182, including room and board, up 5.9% from last year. And Columbia now sets you back $51,866, the Sun reports. But according to NYU professor Amy Ellen Schwartz, it's actually a sweet deal when you look at the big picture: "What is true about understanding the college market, is that the economics are very complicated. In the more expensive universities the actual value of the education spending is even more than tuition. If you ask me, is it worth $50,000? You probably get $100,000 worth of education at somewhere like Yale." What a pity she's stuck slumming it at NYU. more ›

Today the Post looks at how the turbulent economy is affecting the lifestyle of one family of four on the Upper East Side, and, surprise surprise, reports that it’s not really such a big deal for some people. Sure, their cost of living expenses have risen by $1,000 a month compared to this time last year, but Mr. and Mrs. Gary Foodim aren’t sweating it – they vacationed at Disney World last year and there's no way the recession is going to stop this year's trip. more ›