Even the mayor of New York has trouble paying for college

April 7, 2015, 10:22 AM ET

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks to the Association for a Better New York in New York, Thursday, March 5, 2015. De Blasio, promoting his message of income equality and empowering the less fortunate, pressed influential New York City business leaders on Thursday to raise their workers' starting pay to $13 an hour. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)Photograph by Seth Wenig — AP

Paying for college has become such a large expense that even one of the most famous politicians in America is having trouble with it: New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

Pretty soon, de Blasio and his wife Chirlane McCray will have two children in college. Their daughter Chiara goes to Santa Clara University in California, while son Dante — who became a star during the mayoral campaign in 2013 — is currently a senior in high school and considering offers from top colleges. In a recent interview, the mayor, who earns $225,000 as mayor and makes tens of thousands of dollars off rental income, said that it would be a complicated process for Dante to figure out where he’d end up and how the family will pay for it.

“There’s going to be a big challenge in figuring out financial aid and visits and all sorts of stuff,” Mr. de Blasio told The New York Times.