The Price You Pay for College

Named one of the best books of 2021 by NPR

New York Times Bestseller and a New York Times Book Review Editor’s Choice pick

“Masterly . . .represents an extraordinary achievement: It is comprehensive and detailed without being tedious, practical without being banal, impeccably well judged and unusually rigorous.”—Daniel Markovits, New York Times Book Review

“Ron Lieber is a gift.”—Scott Galloway

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—a decision made even more confusing because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

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, a new form of discounting that most colleges now use to compete with peers for their ideal students.

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? This comprehensive guide 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, handle student loans, 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.

How do you turn an overwhelming process into an empowering one?

Financial Aid Explained: A clear breakdown of who pays what and why, decoding the FAFSA and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC) so you know exactly where you stand. Merit Aid Demystified: Go behind the curtain on the discounting system most colleges use to compete for students, and learn when a “scholarship” is really just a coupon. Evaluating College Value: Discover the tough questions to ask college presidents and financial aid officers about what’s truly worth paying extra for—from teaching quality to career centers. A Family Financial Strategy: Learn the right ways to set goals, talk to your children about money, and confidently save, borrow, and bargain for a better deal on one of life’s biggest expenses.