The Price of Oxbridge

In addition to the cost of a flight to England, the cost for one person to attend both weeks at Oxbridge ’98 was $3150, This covered the $325 registration fee, $1550 tuition fee, and $1275 for room and board. (Room and board included most breakfasts and dinners, but only a couple of lunches.)

Thus it was difficult for those of ordinary means to participate without a substantial scholarship. Even the price of admission to individual lectures was so prohibitive that some people in Oxford who wanted to attend only one or two lectures were unable to do so. This was immensely disappointing.

Nevertheless, because of the high cost of conducting a conference like this, I doubt that the Foundation made a lot of money from it. The price was not inordinate. (For one thing, there seemed to be many helpers there, ranging from dorm captains to ushers, and they probably paid less than full price. I expect that most of Stan Mattson’s financial profit from Oxbridge ’98 will be from follow-up activities among potential donors.