<p>APR disclosure is a credit transaction, licensed and regulated by state or federal government. The government doesn’t regulate the cost of college, so no disclosure or comparison required. The credit laws don’t require car dealers to disclose how car A is different from car B, or how a car at the lot down the street is a better deal, only to disclose the credit deal for THAT car, and if you don’t finance the car, the disclosures are not required at all. Similarly, colleges don’t have to list and compare their product with other schools.</p>
<p>They could call it ‘Federal line of entitlement’ or ‘Amount where your federal entitlements will kick in’ They could call it MEFCBFAKI (BYMHTPM) = Minimum Expected Family Contributions Before Financial Aid Kicks In (But You May Have To Pay More). The first time you look at EFC you may not know what it means, but you have the obligation to find out.</p>
<p>I actually think the government is doing a pretty good job at explaining how much benefits will cover, what loans are available, especially with the NPC now required. Even with all the credit disclosures required, most borrowers still just want to know what the monthly payment will be - not the total repayment amount, the APR, the fees. They just want to know what it will cost them every month. Same with college - how much will this cost me out-of-pocket. Many don’t care about the amount of the loans, and if the government didn’t cap them, they’d borrow more.</p>