Tag Archives: Cost of Attendance
5 Tips to Jump Start Paying for College
While students begin scouring resources determining their best-fit college, parents are left scratching their heads on how to pay for it. With a few simple steps, parents can begin to get a grasp on paying for college and available financial aid. 1. Determine Cost of Attendance (COA) Many families go to the school website, look up cost of tuition, add room and board and run with that number forgetting the cost of college includes fees, books, travel and personal expenses. Be sure you add all the numbers to get the COA. You can also find this information on College Navigator – … Continue reading
Must Ask Financial Aid Questions
Whether you’re a junior visiting colleges or a senior comparing aid packages to make that final decision by May 1st, you need to be asking questions. Juniors Asking questions early in the college selection process will assist you in ruling in or out a possible school for application. With college being more expensive than ever and far outpacing inflation, the family’s ability to pay and the college’s generosity must be considered. Don’t simply rule out private schools, as they often have a lower Cost of Attendance than the publics as detailed in my previous post Why Pay Sticker Price for College. … Continue reading
Net Price Calculators
The Higher Education Act of 2008 requires that all colleges have a Net Price Calculator on their school site as of October 29, 2011. Our previous posts on Why Pay Sticker Price for College explained that Cost of Attendance for college is much more than Tuition + Room/Board and that rarely does a student pay sticker price for college. The idea behind the Net Price Calculator (NPC) is to give prospective, full-time freshmen an estimate of their potential aid and final cost for attending that school. Keep in mind, it is not binding financial aid offer that will only come in the … Continue reading
Why Pay Sticker Price for College?
This past summer I had to finally replace my trusty mini-van after almost a decade. Frankly, I was ready to move on to something non-van! I started my research of reviews and price. We did buy new and of course, we did not pay sticker price. No one does, right? So can the same sticker price rule also apply to college? Yes! Sticker Price Sticker price for college is the total Cost of Attendance (COA). This means tuition + room/board + books + fees. Note: COA is not just tuition + room/board! Many families look at the sticker price of … Continue reading
