But how much do students actually pay?

If the parents (like OP) have had a couple of small exits, the students (or their parents) pay the full amount.

Sure, but having a couple exits makes them extreme outliers. The entire point of the article is that quoting public tuition prices is an illusion obscuring the true cost. What is the average or median student paying?

Edit: At least according to one source, the average student pays 19,000 per year, including fees and housing. And they receive 22,000 in financial aid. Ie, the average student gets a larger discount than what they actually end up paying. https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/virginia/university-o...

Similarly, Michigan is 18,000 per year with 22,000 in "aid".

Also, both schools are top 100 schools in the US. So even at elite schools, the average student is paying a fraction of the "price".

Financial aid = loans.

They get the opportunity to take out more loans, the poorer their parents are. I got a small pell grant a few years, but most of my college was all loans from the student aid office.

You're right that there are some loans included in that number, but it looks like it is not even half of it:

"27% of students received Federal Student Loans averaging $4,835 and 10% of undergrads took out private student loans averaging $11,058."

Uh no, scholarships are counted under FA. I was given a 75% scholarship under FA. Smarter peers than me were granted full rides under FA scholarship since their family income was so low.

> Financial aid = loans.

Financial aid also includes grants, both school-issued and outside (public and private), and it includes both merit-based aid and need-based aid.

Without need or merit breaks, the in-state tuition at UIUC really is the tuition.

Those breaks are massive. The average UIUC student pays 13,500 per year and receives 15,000 in "aid". That is less than half the sticker price.

https://www.collegesimply.com/colleges/illinois/university-o...

Edit, you're right, this includes loans, but grants make up the majority of that figure. It's not entirely clear to me how each number is weighted:

"Grant and scholarship aid does not need to be paid back. 36% of students received Federal Student Loans averaging $4,863 and 9% of undergrads took out private student loans averaging $6,819."

Hold on: 60% of students get aid, and that "aid", scarequotes yours, includes things like Pell grants. Pell grants aren't an accounting scheme! That's real money.