1952: How Colleges Quietly Discount Tuition and What Families Need to Know

Many parents believe college now costs $100,000 a year. But the truth is far more complicated.

Today on So Money, I’m joined by Ron Lieber, longtime New York Times “Your Money” columnist and author of the bestselling book The Price You Pay for College. Ron has spent years investigating how college pricing really works—and why the “sticker price” is often not the price families actually pay.

In our conversation, Ron explains why the most important question isn’t how to save for college or even how to pay for college.

It’s this: What should you actually pay?

In this episode, we discuss:

• Why the $100,000 college headline can be misleading

• How merit aid scholarships really work

• Why colleges quietly compete for students with discounts

• How families can ask for more aid (without turning the process into a battle)

• The surprising story behind the merit-aid “arms race” in higher education

Learn more about Ron's course and get his free checklist: Understanding Merit Aid

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