Thread by @jodikantor

This thread is for parents of teenagers. I have something for you: the first chapter of @ronlieber’s THE PRICE YOU PAY FOR COLLEGE. Because ye gods, here’s what we and our kids are facing. bit.ly/3pfXrKM

Beyond obvious changes, like $$$ tuition prices, the system has changed from when we were in school. Nearly all colleges use so-called “merit-aid” to pay kids for good grades.
nytimes.com/2021/01/23/bus…

This is NOT need-based financial aid, and it’s not about expanding college access for the poor... it's an arms race by schools scrambling for US News rankings.

Tuition list prices are misleading at this point. College seats are more like airline seats, and your kid's actual price is calculated based on everything from his zip code... SAT scores... how much interest he and his cohort have shown in school X (yes they can figure that out.)

Ron has seen NYC high school classes in which three kids were offered admission to the same small school at three different prices-- and *none* of them had applied for need-based financial aid!

Colleges are rarely transparent about this, even though this is one of the biggest financial decisions of our lives.

Ron, a personal finance columnist for decades, spent years researching how this really works and how to navigate. What's worth paying for re college and what's a total ripoff. How to deal with the feelings of guilt and snobbery that come up.

How to evaluate whether SUNY at 25K a year makes more sense than Tulane at 40k a year or Brown at 75k a year. What college presidents really make of all this-- Ron interviewed a ton of them-- and how to get more information so you're not left feeling like a pawn.

On a personal note, this book also helped me rethink what to look for in a college, because there is ONE thing Ron found makes a bigger difference in the value of an education than anything else. (Not spoiling it here.)

So please tell fellow parents of teenagers! Anyone who pre-orders the book before it's out tomorrow gets some special cool stuff. ronlieber.com/preorder-info/

And join us tonight if you can, with @priyaparker and @AnandWrites, on Zoom: communitybookstore.net/lieber-price-y…

Thank you for sharing this info, and particularly that first chapter. Not just for book sales reasons. Because this system is brutal and @ronlieber (my husband) is passionate about getting this guidance to anyone who might need it.