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A student's graduation cap
Brian Snyder / Reuters

Why College Became So Expensive

And what that has meant for America’s middle-class families

  • Joe Pinsker
September 3, 2019
Alicia Tatone

The College-Affordability Crisis Is Uniting the 2020 Democratic Candidates

Well, sort of

  • Adam Harris
February 26, 2019
Mario Anzuoni / Reuters

Why Many College Dropouts Are Returning to School in North Carolina

A new plan to lower tuition has led to a 60 percent jump in the number of students who have reenrolled at one university.

  • Adam Harris
October 25, 2018
Students at Berea College in 1899
Library of Congress

The Little College Where Tuition Is Free and Every Student Is Given a Job

Berea College, in Kentucky, has paid for every enrollee’s education using its endowment for 126 years. Can other schools replicate the model?

  • Adam Harris
October 11, 2018
an illustration of a figure standing at a crossroads, the signs pointing toward "debt" in one direction and "free" in the other
Alicia Tatone

America Wakes Up From Its Dream of Free College

A flurry of state and local programs to cover students’ tuition and attention by top politicians made a national program seem possible. Then Trump won.

  • Adam Harris
September 11, 2018
Alicia Tatone

At Private Colleges, Students Pay for Prestige

In most other countries outside the U.S., the most prestigious universities are public.

  • Alia Wong
September 11, 2018
A graduation cap made of money
Alicia Tatone

Why Is College in America So Expensive?

The outrageous price of a U.S. degree is unique in the world.

  • Amanda Ripley
September 11, 2018
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