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Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make
Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make | Ron Lieber
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The hugely popular New York Times "Your Money" columnist and author of the bestselling The Opposite of Spoiled offers a deeply reported and emotionally honest approach to the biggest financial decision families will ever make: what to pay for college. Sending a teenager to a flagship state university for four years of on-campus living costs more than $100,000 in many parts of the United States. Meanwhile, many families of freshmen attending selective private colleges will spend triple--over $300,000. With the same passion, smarts, and humor that infuse his personal finance column, Ron Lieber offers a much-needed roadmap to help families navigate this difficult and often confusing journey. Lieber begins by explaining who pays what and why and how the financial aid system got so complicated. He also pulls the curtain back on merit aid, an entirely new form of discounting that most colleges now use to compete with peers.While price is essential, value is paramount. So what is worth paying extra for, and how do you know when it exists in abundance at any particular school? Is a small college better than a big one? Who actually does the teaching? Given that every college claims to have reinvented its career center, who should we actually believe? He asks the tough questions of college presidents and financial aid gatekeepers that parents don't know (or are afraid) to ask and summarizes the research about what matters and what doesn't.Finally, Lieber calmly walks families through the process of setting financial goals, explaining the system to their children and figuring out the right ways to save, borrow, and bargain for a better deal. The Price You Pay for College gives parents the clarity they need to make informed choices and helps restore the joy and wonder the college experience is supposed to represent.
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While I don‘t have any kids headed to college, I made one really great decision (undergrad) and one really poor one (grad school) of where to apply and attend. This will help you navigate the questions you should be asking for undergraduate admissions from picking where to apply and how to compare offers, from how to plan/save to how to actually pay. A great practical advice guide to the questions you should be asking and the answers you need. ⬇️

Megabooks For Littens looking at graduate programs, this may be a good #BorrowNotBuy, as some of the questions don‘t change. 4y
mhillis I read this recently and it covers so many things related to choosing a university-lots of good info to consider 4y
Cinfhen This would have been so helpful 10 years ago.... 4y
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Megabooks @mhillis totally agree! 4y
Megabooks @Cinfhen there was so much less information then. I made my undergrad decision 23 years ago and graduate school 14 years ago, and I wish I had better tools at the time. I got lucky with undergrad but definitely should‘ve thought out grad school more. I think Auburn would‘ve been a better choice than UT, but hindsight and all... 4y
TrishB When I did open days with my kids they wouldn‘t let me ask questions! Despite the fact I‘d been working in unis all my life. 4y
Megabooks @TrishB I think I did the same to my parents! 4y
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Easy read that breaks down the whys of the college financial aid system. Helps you ponder decisions related to schools and how they offer aid. I read as we are going through award letters now (Georgetown, Wellesley, or Colorado College) but I would recommend picking up this book freshman/ sophomore year to plan further ahead.