The cost of attending college has been rising much faster than both household income and inflation for many decades — as a matter of basic math, it was bound to get too expensive for even the relatively well-to-do at some point. We seem to be at that moment now with families who make over \\$200,000 a year increasingly looking for discounts and weighing them heavily in choosing a school. Today, Jeffrey Selingo, who has written a number of stories forNew Yorkabout college admissions, reports on the increasing importance of "merit aid," a soft category of discounts for applicants who are ineligible for traditional financial aid. For schools facing an increasingly difficult financial landscape, it's a win to get well-qualified students who will pay at least partial tuition, while many parents and applicants seem happy to trade a notch of prestige for a lower price tag. Think of it as a new era of value shopping in the world of higher education.

Enjoying\xa0One Great Story?\xa0

If you're enjoying our reading recommendations, consider forwarding this newsletter to a friend. If someone forwarded this newsletter to you, youcansign up here.\xa0Andsubscribe toNew Yorknowfor unlimited access to all our stories.