How did college get so expensive?

Getting a college degree is a lot more expensive than it used to be–30% more, after inflation. Everyone has a theory about why that is (Fancy amenities! Lack of state funding! Student loans!) but what does the data say? In this episode, Clare schools Teo on the forces driving college tuition higher, and explains what could bring prices back down to earth. 

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Sources in this episode:

• Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2025, College Board
• The College Payoff, Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 2021
• College Scorecard
• Decoding the Cost of College, New America, 2018
• Can the Trump administration make college cheaper?, Planet Money, 2026
• Key Changes to Federal Student Loans Made in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Harvard University
• Interview with Beth Akers, American Enterprise Institute 
• Interview with Judith Scott-Clayton, Columbia University
• Interview with Chris Ruhl, Purdue University
• Tuition data from: University of Washington; Western Washington University; Dartmouth College; University of Southern California

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