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Shir Levenson got into Tufts. She opened the email at 7 p.m., screamed, and then did the math. Tufts says it meets 100 percent of demonstrated need; her family, two nonprofit professionals with second jobs, didn’t qualify. The final package left her responsible for $94,536 a year. She’ll enroll at Binghamton instead, at roughly a third of the price, and writes in The Hechinger Report that it still hurts.

Her essay lands alongside two reports that each measure the worth of college from a different angle.

The Art & Science Group’s latest student poll finds 34 percent of recent high school graduates ruled out a school based solely on the politics of its state, up from 28 percent in 2024 and 24 percent in 2023. The screening runs in both directions. More than 15 percent of conservative-leaning students crossed off California, Colorado and New York; a similar share of liberal-leaning students crossed off Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas. Most of that sorting happens before a college ever sees an application. “The colleges may never even see these kids,” co-founder David Strauss told Inside Higher Ed.

A Qualtrics and Buro Happold survey of 1,007 current students asked what they’re getting for their money. Personal growth ranked first of nine dimensions, with 74 percent reporting high or exceptional value. Economic return ranked last, at 66 percent. “Students are looking for value, and at the same time, they don’t want to measure it purely in terms of dollars and cents,” co-author Elliot Felix said. Transfer students and students with disabilities rated their experience lowest, and fourth-years rated it lower than first-years.

Then there’s the group that already left and came back. Writing in Fortune, InsideTrack president Ruth Bauer notes the share of high school graduates heading straight to college has slipped from nearly 70 percent a decade ago to about 60 percent. Meanwhile, more than a million adults with some credits and no degree re-enrolled in 2023-24, the most the National Student Clearinghouse has recorded. In North Carolina, adults who finished a credential through NC Reconnect saw median annual earnings rise about $20,000.

Levenson priced college. A third of students screened it by state politics. Current students say the best part is who they became. Bauer’s returning adults came back for the paycheck. Four groups, four different answers, and none of them is the one admissions brochures sell.

Levenson plans to study political science at Binghamton after a gap year. She expects to graduate debt-free.

— Thomas

P.S. Several of us are in New York City this week for Grantmakers for Education’s annual conference and EdTech Week. If you’re attending either, say hi!

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