By MATT FLEGENHEIMER
Published: April 13, 2012
Last fall, the Department of Education began requiring that
colleges and universities install a “net price calculator” on their Web sites.
The calculators estimate how much a student might actually have to pay, based
on parents’ income, family circumstances and other factors that would guide a
financial aid office at a particular campus. The goal, according to the
secretary of education, Arne Duncan, is to “help potential degree seekers
better understand which schools they can afford to attend and how much debt they
will have to take on to get a degree.”
How is it working so far?
Like all things in their infancy, there are growing pains.
For one, with the diversity of calculator options, comparisons between schools
can be difficult. Many universities and colleges use a template provided by the
Department of Education. Others have built their own, with more detailed
surveys of users. More than 650 campuses subscribe to a calculator provided by
a company called Student Aid Services. About 330 institutions use the version
developed by the College Board.
“I tend to describe these as being good ballpark estimates
of affordability, but not yet suitable for comparing colleges,” says Mark
Kantrowitz, an expert on financial aid who founded the Web site finaid.org.
“You can’t tell the difference between home plate and center field,” he says.
And so we asked a few currently enrolled students to test
out the calculators using their own financials. They gave the calculators mixed
reviews, in accuracy and ease in filling out. Read what they said
I'm Ron Denaro and thanks for joining College Campus Chatter today!
Ron Denaro is the president of College Campus Trips, a tour company providing high school students with tours of college campuses, nationwide. For more information, call (954) 567-5751 or e-mail: ron@collegecampustrips.com
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