Colleges and Universities Employ the College Board's Net Price Calculator

Dec. 2011

Western News

Hundreds of colleges and universities across the United States are utilizing the College Board’s Net Price Calculator to assist families in understanding the true costs of higher education.

The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 requires that college and university websites offer customized approximations of college costs based on standardized inputs — family size and amount of savings, for example. With this tool, students and families can see the approximate financial aid they might receive and how it decreases the institution’s “list price.” Its purpose is to give prospective students a clearer picture of the net price, or actual cost, of attending a particular institution.

The College Board’s Net Price Calculator allows colleges and universities to update the calculator with their financial aid awarding practices and policies. Students enter financial data about their family and academic data about themselves into the calculator, which then computes an estimated financial aid package for that student based on how the student’s characteristics match up with the financial aid awarding practices of the institution.

The calculator’s results estimate out-of-pocket expenses for the family instead of an expected family contribution. These results are intended to help families make sound, informed education choices.

More than 300 institutions in 48 states and the District of Columbia are using the College Board’s Net Price Calculator. Professionals in college counseling and in financial aid administration at colleges and universities also are finding the tool helpful. Click here to see a list of colleges in your state that are using the calculator.

“The ease of implementation and user-friendly technology of the College Board’s Net Price Calculator is unmatched by any other calculator on the market,” said Virginia Miller, senior associate director of financial aid at Scripps College. “Using the latest technology, it delivers on its promise of calculating an accurate student aid and net price estimate. A unique feature is that it allows students to perform multiple net price calculations at several schools with fewer steps and perform ‘what if’ scenarios with very little effort.”

The calculator also offers several benefits to students and families:

• Low- and middle-income students will explore a broader set of colleges if they can envision affordability.

• Higher-income families will gain a realistic perspective on the cost of college and plan accordingly.

• All students will make better, more informed choices as to what college to attend because they will have accurate information on how much it will really cost.