<p>One can use kayak and other fare compare websites to compare multiple airlines and travel sites in just one search. Are there similar sites that will search and compare the financial aid results from multiple schools if one puts all the financial information once? Just curious. Thanks.</p>
<p>The closest thing is for those colleges and universities that have contracted with the College Board to run their Net Price Calculators. If you start at the website of one of those institutions, the College Board website will store your raw numbers and run them through the calculators of the other places that you choose that also are using College Board.</p>
<p>Whether the results for any of those institutions prove to be remotely accurate estimates of your potential aid packages is a whole different story.</p>
<p>Financial aid is not anything like airfare or hotel prices. A comparison tool like Kayak would not work for finaid.</p>
<p>Kayak is just an example, so y’all know what I’m talking about.</p>
<p>Granted, a comparison tool for financial aid would be a bit more complicated with various algorithms and attributes. Many appls have been developed based on their potential market. I sure would use a finaid comparison tool if one is available.</p>
<p>Happymom has given links to a model that does just that. Yes, i think it would be neat to have an app of that sort that can give the bottom line cost and then break that into loans and payment over various loan periods. What happens too often is that families look at how much “aid” and grants were given, instead of what is left to pay, which is the bottom line. Loans and other self help are still what need to be paid. They should never be treated as grants. So an app making that all crystal clear would be great.</p>
<p>Thanks, Happymom! I will take a look at College Board site.</p>
<p>CPT, I would build my own “kayak” if I were 17 in high school.</p>
<p>^That would assume that you know the calculations each school uses. For institutional funds, that’s not likely to happen.</p>
<p>Its not the same.
Unless instead of comparing two flights to Chicago Miami., you were happy with comparing
NYC to Burbank and Seattle to Portland.</p>