Strada’s Justin Draeger, senior vice president, affordability, delivered an important message recently to the House Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development: Most Americans today have no idea what it costs to attend either a community college or a four-year in-state public university.
In fact, Draeger shared, most are overestimating that cost. And at the same time, most Americans, nearly 4 out of 5, believe college is unaffordable.
Meanwhile, prices that people actually pay for college have been flat or in decline for the last several years in inflation-adjusted dollars.
“Now of course nobody believes it. Why?” Draeger asked the subcommittee. “All they see are rising sticker prices, scary headlines, confusing jargon, and enrollment tactics that too often leave them in a fog of confusion.”
