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How to pay less for college: Merit aid

If you don’t qualify for need-based financial aid, merit scholarships might be the answer.
Parents may want to impress outsiders by getting their child into a prestigious college. “But what other people don't understand,” says New York Times columnist Ron Lieber, “is whatever financial constraints you may be operating under."
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

College admissions is a business, and the pandemic could upend it

Oct 5, 2020
In his new book, Jeff Selingo looks at how some colleges must compete for applicants, and why the COVID-19 pandemic could make this competition even tighter.
A student moving into the University of Colorado Boulder on Aug. 18, 2020.
Mark Makela/Getty Images

Don't expect a tuition refund if your university moves classes online

Aug 19, 2020
Students may not be getting what they signed up for, but they're unlikely to get their money back.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill moved classes online after more than 100 students tested positive for COVID-19.
Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

Faced with high education costs, Southern California students look to Mexico

Dec 17, 2019
As tuition and the cost of housing rises, one university in Mexico is looking to provide a cheaper alternative.
The CETYS campus in Tijuana, Baja California.
Matt Bowler

More students from higher-income families taking out student loans

Dec 4, 2019
A new study finds that the percentage of students from middle and higher-income families who take out loans to get a bachelor’s degree has more than doubled in the last 20 years.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Are you saving for college for your kids?

Jul 26, 2019
We want to know if your financial planning extends to your kids' future tuition fees.
ROBYN BECK/AFP/Getty Images

How did you pay for college?

Jul 22, 2019
We're thinking about the evolution of student debt, generation to generation, and we'd like to hear from you.
Students walk near Royce Hall on the campus of UCLA in Los Angeles, California
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Early admissions gets a second, and sometimes third, round

Jan 7, 2019
This fall saw college applications go out, and for some lucky students, early admissions letters came in. If students accept, the contracts are binding. The rest of the applicants? They have to wait until the spring to find out their fates. But increasingly, colleges have a second round. Click the audio player above to hear […]

Should Massachusetts tax its wealthiest higher ed institutions to subsidize the cost for public college students?

Nov 1, 2018
Universities with big endowments must start paying a new tax that passed as part of the GOP’s tax overhaul.

Texas legislature taking on college costs

Feb 21, 2018
Legislatures across the country are trying to contain tuition hikes.