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Thanks so much.

This is Our Body Politics. I'm the creator and host for Rai Chidea. For so many students, this month is going to be life-changing.

My goddaughter is going to college as a freshman. I am so excited for her and so excited that she gets to go in person, not on Zoom school.

The calculus to even go to college is getting harder and harder each year for so many families. My next guest is here to tell us all about the changing pros and cons of

higher education. Dr. Angel Perez is CEO of the National Association for College

Admission Counseling, or NACAC. He's been working in higher education for over two decades. His organization

represents admissions and counseling professionals. Welcome back to Our Body Politics, Angel.

Good to see you again. How do you view the return on investment of higher education today?

I'm asking because you wrote in the Atlantic, it's harder than ever for lower income students to afford

college. What's the state of play for college accessibility and affordability? So I think the first

thing to acknowledge is that college is certainly expensive. And actually the rate of college tuition

keeps going up at a much faster rate than inflation. But the reality of

the matter is college education is still one of the best investments that any student can make in their

lifetime. All of the data shows to the point that if you get a college education, you have a much

higher possibility of gaining more employment over time.

You will make more money over a lifetime.

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