A version of this article appears in print on Nov. 13, 2022, Section A, Page 20 of the New York edition with the headline: On the Steep Slope of College Affordability, a Toehold.

Athletes run or walk up steep slopes ranging between 10 degrees and 30 degrees in order to ascend 1,000 meters over a distance of less than 5 kilometers, or about 3.1 miles. The world record for a VK ...