Consumer Confidential: College, gas and Apple

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Here’s your tantalizing-Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--College costs are higher than ever. That’s the word from the College Board, which says tuition and fees at private four-year schools have risen 4.4% to $26,273, while charges at public four-year universities climbed more than 6% for both in-state and out-of state students to $7,020 and $18,548, respectively. This year’s high school graduating class was the largest ever, creating a seller’s market for colleges. Not surprisingly, schools are pressing that advantage. Also not surprisingly, the experts say students and families will be borrowing more to make higher education possible.

--Oil is up, and you know what that means: You’ll be paying more at the pump for gas. Oil briefly topped $80 a barrel this morning, the first time that’s happened in a year. The price of a gallon of gas now averages $2.577 nationwide, up almost a dime from a week ago, according to our friends at AAA. I’m thinking the real coup here would be to open a college that also sells gas.

--Apple’s stock took off after the company reported record quarterly sales of iPhones and Mac computers. If you’re like me, you’re asking only one question: Why didn’t I invest in this company before it became so darned successful?

-- David Lazarus