The growing gap between college sticker prices and what people actually pay
At NYU, the published cost including housing and living expenses topped $82,000 in the 2022-23 school year. That is roughly a 20% increase from 2006-07, accounting for inflation. But a separate calculation for those who received aid from the school showed the price they paid dropped by 34% over the same period to roughly $30,700.
Bille, now 24, had wanted to go to NYU since middle school. The Las Vegas native is the daughter of immigrants who never navigated the American college system.
When she got into NYU in February 2019, the lack of aid didn’t deter her. The total cost for freshman year that fall, including room and board, was $75,502, according to NYU.
She had gotten a jump-start bringing the cost down with dozens of scholarship applications before she got accepted. But she kept applying. She color-coded her spreadsheet to track their status. A yellow row meant she was waiting to hear back. Red meant she had been rejected. Green meant she got the schola
