The college cost calculator through WiseChoice.com is great. It not only gives you a super accurate result, but you only have to put your information in one time to get results from any of the colleges you are considering. I love that site!
Gabby Moralesof FL8:21PM December 15, 2011
Net price calculators can make it much easier for prospective students and their families to look past often scary “sticker prices” and start figuring out which colleges they might be able to afford – *before* they have to decide where to apply.
Students considering colleges both in and outside their state should use net price calculators to get early individualized estimates of costs and financial aid. The federal calculator template provides separate calculations for in-state vs. out-of-state students, and the calculators we’ve seen (even those not based on the federal template) accommodate out-of-state students too.
When interpreting results and comparing colleges, students should make sure to focus on the “net price,” defined in law as the full cost of attendance minus need- and merit-based grants and scholarships. In practical terms, the net price is the amount of money that students and their families will have to save, earn, or borrow to attend a particular college.
As this article mentions, it is important to remember that loans have to be repaid with interest and work expectations earned, while grants and scholarships don’t need to be repaid. Therefore, you don’t want to accidentally compare one school’s net price with a number from another school that includes loans and work-study.
We recently posted some tips for finding and using net price calculators: http://ticas.org/files/pub/Tips_for_using_NPCs.pdf. For more information about net price calculators and our recommendations for making them as useful as possible for students and their families, please view our report, “Adding It All Up: An Early Look at Net Price Calculators” (http://ticas.org/files/pub/adding_it_all_up.pdf).
--Diane Cheng
The Institute for College Access & Success
www.ticas.org
Diane Cheng (TICAS)of CA8:08PM December 15, 2011
What the calculators can't predict is any scholarship money the student might win, which really help keep tuition down if the student is successful and wins several.
Monica Matthews, http://how2winscholarships.comof MI4:45PM December 15, 2011
The easiest way to determine if the NPC you're trying is generating a reliable estimate of aid eligibility and net price is to be aware of the number of questions it ask. The rule of thumb is the more questions an NPC asks, the more reliable and accurate its personalized results will be. NPCs that ask 30 to 40 questions, which takes about 8 to 12 minutes to answer, offer the most reliable and accurate information. These are NPCs custom built by vendors or homegrown.
Thousands of colleges chose to build their NPCs using the federal calculator template, which is proven to be inaccurate for many colleges and students - usually overestimating a student's net price. The federal template is flawed because it is reflective - based on two year old college aid award data, uses need-based questions to determine merit aid, and doesn't follow the federal method for determining the crucial Expected Family Contribution that determines need.
Custom NPCs are 'predictive' because they are based on current or future aid award formulas and cost, and that makes them much more reliable and accurate. The most sophisticated ones generate very detailed estimates that include free grants, work study, military aid, and federal education loans.
About 1,500 colleges and post-secondary schools have posted predictive NPCs.
Reader Comments
Back to article
Gabby Morales of FL 8:21PM December 15, 2011
Diane Cheng (TICAS) of CA 8:08PM December 15, 2011
Monica Matthews, http://how2winscholarships.com of MI 4:45PM December 15, 2011
Mary Fallon of CA 3:47PM December 15, 2011