Why are so many colleges suddenly free [tuition] under 200k?

“Free tuition” for income of under $200k (or $250k) is good for marketing. However, net cost can still be quite substantial. Most of the colleges mentioned in this thread are a little over $90k net price, with a little over $60k tuition; so “free tuition” means <= $30k net cost. If you instead phrase it as which colleges are <= $30k net cost for an income of $200k (or $250k), the list is much larger. Hundreds of colleges are likely to meet that criteria including many quality flagships (in state) and quality private colleges.

Examples include University of Florida ($6k tuition, $24k net cost), UNC: Chapel Hill ($7k tuition, $28k net cost), Pomona (NPC shows $27k for $200k income with low assets, but does not market as “free tuition” for $200k income), Berea (all students receive scholarship equivalent to no tuition, net cost is under $20k), etc.

Edit: Removed Washington

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