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college costs, financial aid, financial planning

Navigating Net Price Calculators

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Net price calculators


Before your student applies to any college, it’s important to understand the cost of attendance as it applies to your family’s financial situation. Many disappointments can be avoided if this is the first step before applying to any college. We made that mistake with my daughter and although she got into her first-choice college, we simply could not afford it. If we had been realistic about the cost, we would have discouraged her from applying and steered her toward more affordable options.

With the rising costs of higher education, understanding the true financial implications of attending college has become increasingly crucial for students and their families. Net price calculators, often available on college websites, offer valuable insights into the actual cost of attending a particular institution after factoring in financial aid and scholarships. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to utilize these calculators effectively:

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How to Determine the True Cost of College

 

Parents and students are always looking for ways to determine the cost of college. It’s even more important as costs keep rising and with increasing student debt loads, families need more help than ever when making a college decision and determining the true cost of college.

Enter CostofLearning.com

determine the true cost of collegeWith CostofLearning.com, a user simply selects one or more colleges and a chart appears showing Expected Family Contribution on one axis and the net cost on the other. The free service requires no inputting of personal financial information or registration.

Jimmy Becker, CostofLearning.com CEO, says “We have developed the first universal net price calculator that allows families to compare college pricing in a way they have never been able to before. With CostofLearning.com, what used to be a slow, financially intrusive, and confusing process, is now fast, clear and simple. Most importantly, families get transparency into net pricing.”

How does it work?

CostofLearning.com aggregates multiple data sources and uses proprietary data analysis and modeling to ensure accurate results. Until now, these data sources have never been combined in such a visual and easy-to-use format.

true cost of college“CostofLearning.com’s universal net price calculator reveals facts about schools that users may find surprising,” Rachel Okin, M. Ed, Founder of Okin College Match, and a college admission consultant. “Depending on a family’s financial status and state of residency, sometimes the college that a student expects to be the least expensive turns out not to be and vice versa.  The CostofLearning.com web app is a great tool to help families realize there are colleges they may not have thought they could afford that they actually can. I recommend it as part of the college search process.”

In addition, users can adjust for out-of-state vs. in-state tuitions as well as find more in-depth information such as endowment size, admissions statistics, test scores, graduation rates and more.