The 2020 Democratic presidential primary elevated free-college plans to the top of the national agenda, with many candidates proposing expansive programs to help states make public colleges and universities free for in-state students. Proponents of these plans argue that tuition at public colleges and universities has become increasingly unaffordable largely because states have failed to fund them adequately. They argue that unaffordable tuition at public colleges and universities jeopardizes the key role these institutions play in ensuring affordable access to higher education for state residents from all income backgrounds. The concern over rising tuition at public universities, and the free-college agenda that has emerged in response, is based largely on an incomplete picture of what students actually pay to attend public universities. This report questions the need for free-college policies by assessing affordability and prices at public universities for in-state students after all financial aid is applied and how these "net prices" have changed since the mid-1990s. It also distinguishes between tuition prices, which generally cover educational costs, and living expenses students incur while enrolled. The findings in this report show that popular claims about sharply rising tuition prices at public universities are greatly exaggerated. The findings in this report also show that financial aid has increased to cover more of students' living expenses at public universities during the period analyzed, but not by enough to fully offset cost increases that have greatly exceeded inflation.