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As a new academic year begins on college campuses across the country, students and families are considering one of the most important investments they will ever make: a college education. And many are asking an important question: Is it worth it? That question arises amid a national narrative that increasingly portrays higher education as too expensive, out of reach and no longer worth the investment. Those concerns deserve to be taken seriously. But when that narrative is fueled by incomplete comparisons, inaccurate information or broad claims that simply do not match the facts, it does a disservice to the students and families trying to make informed decisions about their futures.

People of a certain age enjoy telling our younger friends how things were so much better when we were kids. Of course, they always have a snappy comeback or two. “Oh yeah, life was good before seat belts, right? Y’all must have really enjoyed breathing all that polluted air. I’ll bet it was fun watching 3 black and white TV channels.”

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