Some private colleges are beginning to offer price-match guarantees on tuition to match the cost of public in-state institutions, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Here are four things to know about how colleges are using the retail sales tactic:
1. Competition for students in the higher education industry has become increasingly fierce.
2. Atlanta-based Oglethorpe University recently said it would match tuition charged by any of Georgia's flagship universities for high-achieving students. Last week, Pittsburgh-based Robert Morris University not only said it would charge Pennsylvania residents the same tuition as nearby local universities, but threw in a $3,000 scholarship to entice more students.
3. Public schools are also discounting tuition for students coming from out of state. Public universities in Michigan, South Dakota and Nebraska charge out-of-state students in-state tuition. Orono-based University of Maine matches the tuition of its neighboring states.
4. Declines in enrollment are part of the reason some colleges are choosing to price match their tuition, according to WSJ. This year, the University of Nebraska at Kearney began offering in-state tuition to students from Kansas and Colorado to combat a 1 to 2 percent dip in annual enrollment since 2012.