College Websites Begin Offering College-Cost Calculators
Posted 28 May, 2009
The higher education law passed by Congress in 2008 had several requirements aimed at helping with college affordability. One of those requirements was the creation of individual online calculators to be provided by schools to help figure the “net cost” (or what we call the “out-of-pocket cost”) of attendance.
Early Birds…
Though the law doesn’t require colleges to have these calculators in place until 2011, many of the elite schools have already jumped on the bandwagon. In fact, Princeton has been offering a calculator since 1998!
Other schools that are already offering a net-cost calculator include Princeton, Yale, Williams College, Amherst College, and, most recently, M.I.T.
Get the Worm?
Though the calculators are helpful for parents, they might be good advertising for the colleges as well. Since they are specific to each college, they are a more accurate judge of cost than the Department of Education’s EFC calculator or other generalized college cost calculators you might find on the web.
Some students have been pleasantly surprised by the numbers these calculators are giving them, finding the elite schools to be more affordable than they initially thought. A New York Times article on the subject quoted FinAid.org’s Mark Kantrowitz as suggesting that the calculators may be working out as a recruiting tool for these schools.
Still Too General
The addition of these calculators will be very helpful to parents and students alike by providing a much more accurate picture of the initial out-of-pocket-cost . Most of the highly selective private colleges and universities take into account much more than asked for on the FAFSA (the federal financial aid form) including things like home equity, medical expenses and information from the non-custodial parent.
However, the calculators are still much too general to give you a real estimate of what your out-of-pocket cost could be. Many of the calculators will not work for divorced parents or international students, and they cannot take into account things like potential private scholarships, tax strategies or cash-flow changes (good or bad) your family may have during the school year.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to give these calculators a try. You might find the numbers a little more encouraging than you first believed. For some of you, the percieved cost of college is so daunting that you never started saving or planning. In the end, even a rough estimate of the actual cost may be quite a relief and a motivator to begin planning ahead so you can determine how to pay for college most efficiently.
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo by hisks
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The higher education law passed by Congress in 2008 had several requirements aimed at helping with college affordability. One of those requirements was the creation of individual online calculators to be provided by schools to help figure the “net cost” (or what we call the “out-of-pocket cost”) of attendance.
Early Birds…
Though the law doesn’t require colleges to have these calculators in place until 2011, many of the elite schools have already jumped on the bandwagon. In fact, Princeton has been offering a calculator since 1998!
Other schools that are already offering a net-cost calculator include Princeton, Yale, Williams College, Amherst College, and, most recently, M.I.T.
Get the Worm?
Though the calculators are helpful for parents, they might be good advertising for the colleges as well. Since they are specific to each college, they are a more accurate judge of cost than the Department of Education’s EFC calculator or other generalized college cost calculators you might find on the web.
Some students have been pleasantly surprised by the numbers these calculators are giving them, finding the elite schools to be more affordable than they initially thought. A New York Times article on the subject quoted FinAid.org’s Mark Kantrowitz as suggesting that the calculators may be working out as a recruiting tool for these schools.
Still Too General
The addition of these calculators will be very helpful to parents and students alike by providing a much more accurate picture of the initial out-of-pocket-cost . Most of the highly selective private colleges and universities take into account much more than asked for on the FAFSA (the federal financial aid form) including things like home equity, medical expenses and information from the non-custodial parent.
However, the calculators are still much too general to give you a real estimate of what your out-of-pocket cost could be. Many of the calculators will not work for divorced parents or international students, and they cannot take into account things like potential private scholarships, tax strategies or cash-flow changes (good or bad) your family may have during the school year.
Nevertheless, I encourage you to give these calculators a try. You might find the numbers a little more encouraging than you first believed. For some of you, the percieved cost of college is so daunting that you never started saving or planning. In the end, even a rough estimate of the actual cost may be quite a relief and a motivator to begin planning ahead so you can determine how to pay for college most efficiently.
All the best,
Deborah Fox
Deborah Fox is the founder of Fox College Funding®, a nationwide company that helps families find creative ways to reduce their college costs.
photo by hisks
Subscribe in a reader
Subscribe by Email
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