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A brand-new BMW 2 Series Gran Coupe is a sporty little entry into the world of luxury vehicles with a starting price of $42,000.
That is less than the cost of one year at Penn State for a Pennsylvania resident.
Sure, tuition is just $20,878 but with fees and dorms and the dining plan and all the other expenses the university will charge for a full-time undergraduate, a year at Penn State starts at $42,214 for a freshman. Depending on campus or program, it might go as high as $46,640.
Lest any Panther alumni start feeling smug about that, the University of Pittsburgh isn't better. The cheapest programs start at $20,966 in tuition and go as high as $37,428 if you're studying pharmacy. With another $20,946 in fees, housing, food, books, etc., a year at Pitt costs up to $58,374. That would put you in a Tesla Model Y Performance SUV.
This isn't exclusive to state-related schools -- or public universities at all. Each year at a private school comes in around the cost of a Porsche with all the bells and whistles.
But what you should notice about all of these numbers is that tuition is only a part of the final tally.
That's important to remember as many schools are following the lead set by places like Ivy League universities that have pivoted toward opening their doors to students of families making below a certain income.
A new tuition guarantee from the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education called the PASSHE Pledge covers tuition for in-state students who would qualify for the federal Pell Grant as well as the PA State Grant. Both are an indicator of financial need. The schools in question are state-owned institutions, including Slippery Rock, Indiana University of Pennsylvania and the campuses of Pennsylvania Western University (California, Clarion and Edinboro).
"This is a major step toward helping more students earn a degree, launch a career and build a stronger future without a tuition gap standing in their way," said Cynthia Shapira, chair of the PASSHE Board of Governors.
This follows similar actions from Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University. Pitt is waiving tuition for in-state students who come from homes making under $75,000 and attend regional campuses like Greensburg or Johnstown.
Carnegie Mellon also is making school tuition-free for students under that threshold.
That is fantastic. Whatever can be done to make higher education more accessible for more Pennsylvanians is a way to make more people employable, more start-ups possible and more economic growth feasible in the Keystone State.
But we can't lose track of the fact that free tuition and free college are not the same thing.
Let's go back to those cars. There's the sticker price and then there's what it costs to drive off the lot.
Will this dramatically reduce the cost for some families? Absolutely.
But the PASSHE Pledge and Pitt's program are last-dollar scholarships. That means they are not simply dismissing the cost of tuition. Other scholarships and grants come into play first, cutting the tuition down little by little. Then the program cuts what's left.
What that means is that Pell Grants and PA State Grants and other funding address tuition, but there isn't anything left for books, housing, meal plans, etc. Students will still need to take out loans or have work-study to cover those costs, which continue to climb.
That doesn't make these programs less valuable. They are tackling a huge barrier that could be the difference between getting a degree or not.
But understanding exactly what is being offered is important.
These schools will erase one line on the invoice. They won't rip up the whole bill.