It’s no surprise that eye-popping tuition price tags grab headlines and fill families with dread — paying for college is one of the most important (and anxiety-filled) financial decisions that students and families ever make. But here’s what people need to know: Almost no one pays the sticker price listed on college websites. 

Colleges and universities offer wildly different rates to students based on family income. A school with a high sticker price might actually turn out to be cheaper for certain families than a school with a lower advertised tuition rate. And that’s where Tuition Tracker comes in.

Our website allows students to make smart choices about where to apply for college. We take public information that is spread over various college and government websites and put it into one, easy-to-navigate page, where students and families can find out the average price for each college based on their own family’s income.

Thanks to the generous support of individuals like you who care deeply about education, we were able to keep this tool up to date for this year’s prospective college students. However, we need support to maintain this important work.

On top of that, our team of higher education journalists, editors and data experts work every day to cover higher education stories ranging from university closures and program cuts to the innovative ways colleges are recruiting and teaching students. 

We rely on our readers to help us maintain this crucial resource. If you see the value of our recent efforts, please join other educators, policymakers, parents, guardians and journalists who support The Hechinger Report.

As we continue to cover stories, dive into data investigations, and create resources for schools and the students and faculty who walk the hallways, we’re reminded that we cannot do this without you. 

In gratitude, 

Liz Willen 

Editor in Chief, The Hechinger Report

• Share Tuition Tracker with someone you know!
• Read our related stories on where poor students pay more than rich ones and why are prices rising more for lower-income students than their higher-income peers?
• Sign up for our newsletters.
• Is your company interested in supporting The Hechinger Report? Look into our sponsorship opportunities.