One of the first things students and parents should do before embarking on a multi-state college visit tour is to whittle down the list of possible schools to a manageable number. With over 4,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. creating a short list of colleges and universities that fit your budget and meet your student’s academic needs can be a challenge.
Fortunately, tools exist that can help you quickly shorten the list and focus on schools that meet your student’s academic needs and fit your budget.
Collegedata.com. This free website allows you to quickly create a list of schools that meet your basic requirements. Sort by geographic location, school size, private or public, percentage of need met, etc.
For example, a search for West Coast schools with engineering majors that meet 100% of financial need produced six results: Caltech, Scripps University, Stanford, USC, Harvey Mudd, and Claremont McKenna. Wider searches (drop the financial need requirement, for example) produce a larger number of schools to choose from.
Each entry includes a link specific to the schools on your list with additional information regarding admission rates, average ACT/SAT scores, admission deadlines and other data. From there, you can favorite your preferred schools for future reference or link directly to each school’s website for more information.
The CollegeData website also includes tabs for finding scholarships, estimating your Expected Family Contribution (EFC), a Net Price Calculator, and more.
Calculate your net price. Tools like those found on the CollegeData website can help families quickly sort through the thousands of potential schools and create a more manageable list of schools that meet your specific needs and criteria. For most families that criteria will include affordability.
The best tool to assess what you will pay to attend a particular college is the school’s Net Price Calculator. You will find it by typing in “Net Price Calculator” to the search bar of your school’s website.
The Net Price Calculator factors in your financial data as well as key academic information from your student to determine an approximate net price you can expect to spend to attend that school. This isn’t a final number, but it gives parents an idea of how affordable a school may be before they include it on their short list of possible schools for their student.
Here's an example. Caltech is considered one of the best engineering schools in the country. It also shows up on a CollegeData search of West Coast schools with engineering majors that meet 100% of financial need.
Like most schools that meet 100% of financial need, Caltech also comes with a giant price tag -- over $80,000. The good news, if you can get in, they will meet 100% of your student’s demonstrated financial need. At over $80,000 per year, most families would demonstrate need.
Using Caltech’s Net Price Calculator, you can determine roughly how much you can expect to spend to attend this school. For example, a family with a household income of $150,000 might qualify for $55,000 in gift aid, leaving approximately $25,000 they would have to pay from their own resources. Other families might pay more or less, depending on their financial situation.
Finding affordable schools that meet your students needs is difficult. Fortunately, CollegeData.com and tools like the Net Price Calculator make it a lot easier.
To discuss any of the topics in this blog or to learn more about how we can help you Cross The Bridge To A Confident Retirement, please contact me through my web site mikebranch.net, call me directly at 651-379-3935 or email me at mpbranch@focusfinancial.com.