Part 1/3: The Real Truth About College Pricing with Mark Salisbury, PhD

Higher education researcher and founder of Tuition Fit and Pathways, Mark Salisbury, explains how college pricing actually works behind the scenes. He debunks four common myths: that all colleges are too expensive, that in-state public universities are always the cheapest option, that net price figures are entirely accurate, and that financial aid is a limited resource. He outlines how colleges set sticker prices as messaging tools, use "financial aid optimization" (algorithmic discounting designed to extract the maximum each family will pay), and engage in what he calls surveillance pricing by monitoring demonstrated interest and FAFSA data. To conclude, he offers practical advice: focus on post-graduation outcomes rather than prestige, establish a price range early, use net price calculators and tools like Tuition Fit, and remember that people succeed at every price point.

You can listen to Part 1/3: The Real Truth About College Pricing with Mark Salisbury, PhD online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Part 1/3: The Real Truth About College Pricing with Mark Salisbury, PhD is an episode from Next Gen Personal Finance by Next Gen Personal Finance.

This episode is 52:52 long.

This episode was published on Apr 14, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from Next Gen Personal Finance when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.