No way around one simple fact about higher education in America: it costs a lot. The total value of all student loans in the country passed a Trillion dollars a few years ago.
Is it worth it? Will the expensive college provide a job that pays that much better than the job a graduate from a cheaper school will get? Ron Lieber explores these questions and more in the book The Price You Pay for College: An Entirely New Road Map for the Biggest Financial Decision Your Family Will Ever Make.
Lieber has been writing about money for a long time, and is currently the "Your Money" columnist for the New York Times. He visits the JX with details of examining colleges and assessing overall values.