Here's your Forbes Daily Briefing bonus story of the week.

Today on Forbes, 25 private schools with generous financial aid.

College is more expensive than ever.

That part is clear.

But private college tuition is frustratingly opaque.

The average sticker price at a four-year private college,

before room, board, and other college-going expenses are factored in, in the 2024-25 academic year,

was $43,350, a 3.9% increase over 2023-24 prices, according to the college board.

Yet at nearly every private college in the United States, few, if any, students are paying

that price. For myriad reasons, prestige, enrollment competition, and student body diversity,

to name a few, almost all private colleges charge a hefty sticker

price, and then effectively discount their tuition. At four-year private colleges in the

2024-25 academic year, the net price for tuition and fees, meaning the price students and families

pay out-of-pocket after federal, state and institutional grants, but not loans,

are factored into the cost, with $16,510, $26,840 less than what the schools are posting on their

online tuition pages. Put another way, the average tuition discount is a stunning 62%.

There's a larger number that's also important.

The total cost of attendance, or COA, which includes not only tuition and fees, but also room and

board, books, transportation, and personal expenses.

The average list COA was $62,990, while the average net COA was $36,150.

That's a $26,840 or 43% discount. But every student pays a different net price, and determining in advance

what yours will be isn't easy.

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