FROM THE ATLANTIC, SEPTEMBER 30, 2016

Despite an array of calculating tools, comparing financial-aid packages is still an incredibly dense and circular process.

As almost any parent of a high-school senior knows, figuring out the true college price tag is confusing. While the full annual sticker price can be as much as $60,000 or $70,000 at a private college and more than $55,000 at an out-of-state public college, experts say that many students will end up paying considerably less. Sizable merit and need-based aid packages take the sting out of those big numbers.

http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/09/the-unnecessarily-mysterious-cost-of-college/502403/