The US Dept of Ed. College Scorecard is up

Parents Forum
1

<p>The college scorecard about which the President spoke in the State of the Union is now up. It's rather slow to load and the financial info is dated, but it's one more tool.</p>

<p>College</a> Scorecard | The White House</p>

2

<p>it looks like much of the data is old, not just financial. That is unfortunate.</p>

3

<p>some academics aren’t fans.</p>

<p>[White</a> House’s new scorecard oversimplifies institutions, liberal arts advocates say | Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2013/02/14/white-houses-new-scorecard-oversimplifies-institutions-liberal-arts-advocates-say]White”>White House's new scorecard oversimplifies institutions, liberal arts advocates say)</p>

4

<p>As blunt of an instrument as it is, I think it could be helpful. If a student is comparing schools that seem about the same in their minds and the 6 year grad rates are vastly different, that might at least trigger more investigation.</p>

5

<p>It’s a good starting point. The data is from 2009 so that isn’t all that helpful. I do like the average net cost feature.</p>

6

<p>It would be nice if they would just add the borrowing, loans, and earnings (once they actually have this data) to the Dept of Education’s already-existing College Navigator site, which is much more thorough (including 4-year graduation rate, enrollment, programs, etc), and have it all in one place. There are some links on the notes page that will take you to the IES site where the Navigator is, but it’s not obvious if you aren’t aware of it. There is a lot more to schools than these 4 statistics.</p>

7

<p>I think it’s always helpful to have another tool as long as you understand it, especially for schools who are either similar in prestige/reputation/offerings or for schools in similar areas.</p>

<p>The middle tier colleges won’t fare well, though. They don’t have the huge endowments to offset cost (see how Columbia is much cheaper than Fordham) and they get the pick of the litter for ambitious students. If you can get in (the big IF) it’s win win. </p>

<p>The cheaper state schools give a good bang for the buck and their costs are generally low.</p>

<p>The middle tier schools cost more and their stats aren’t quite as good. I am not knocking them, my son went to a middle tier school with a fantastically good merit-aid package and had a stellar experience. But for kids who have to pay it’s going to be tough.</p>