It’s the question just about every parent has when their kids start looking at colleges: How much is this really going to cost?
Too often, families struggle to find a clear answer because college pricing is opaque, said Phillip B. Levine, a professor of economics at Wellesley College.
More than a dozen colleges advertise a $100,000 price tag and others are on the cusp, even though few students pay that amount. Meanwhile, an increasing number of schools are offering some families free tuition. Still, financial aid can be confusing because every school calculates the final cost differently and students don’t see that until they are admitted.
