If it is a meets-full-need school, would the school be likely to increase the actual aid so that the cost to the family is the same, regardless of COA changing?
And I personally think that the guidelines/regulations that require colleges to provide NPCs should also require that they be maintained and current.
Yes, expected family contribution would stay the same and the grant would be increased. The issue at some of these schools is that the trustees don’t vote on budget and fees for the upcoming academic year until pretty late in the spring. So tuition, fees, room and board are estimates until that point.
Yes, at a meets full need school, the increase in COA shouldn’t affect how the school calculates a family’s expected financial contribution. I agree NPCs should be accurate and up-to-date!
yes if someone has a spouse that can be 7000 for them too, while children I think is 6000 each but only up to their level of income
Oh right technically the term COA is meant to be the sticker price. I really meant COM (Cost to Me), as should have been abundantly clear from context.
Yes, clear to me, but probably not everyone else. Precise and unambiguous communication is nice to have, and every moment can be a teaching moment, right professor? 
I believe it is a Dept of Educ requirement that they have “A” npc, but not that it be current or accurate. Many do not include merit aid, or state aid. I know the one that we were using for one daughter was at least 2 years behind in tuition costs and didn’t include all the merit awards or state awards that were automatic with certain stats.
I don’t think there is a penalty to the schools for having an inaccurate NPC (except that they may lose applicants).
I would like to see the DOE amend the requirement so that the NPC has to at least be up-to-date with current COA. I like the fact that a lot of schools joined myintuition to give a close estimate for non-complex situations.
But what would be the penalty if the DOE made such a requirement? Should the DOE withhold grant money? Who does that hurt if the DOE gives the school less SEOG money? What else could they do to punish the school for having an inaccurate NPC? I don’t think they could force a school to let the students attend for the lower tuition listed on the NPC, or force the school to give the aid promised because there is no way to check that the student or family entered all the correct info into the NPC. I think it would cause schools to very much underestimate the amount of aid that would be available if the school had to honor the NPC.
My daughter’s school did not set the tuition for the Fall until July 1, long after (almost 18 months later in some cases) all the seniors in hs had used the NPC to pick and apply to schools, and just days before we had to pay the tuition. We used the NPCs as an estimate, and in most cases it was fairly close (if not under) to what the FA offers were, after the tuition increases were adjusted. Some of the merit awards had actually increased and there is no way that a student using the NPC in September or Oct can know what will increase or decrease for the following fall. Even the Pell grant amounts are not set for the next year until June.
Good points.
Maybe “strongly encouraged” to be as up to date as possible rather than required?
No punishment, just guidelines?
Hi, would your kids ever consider college in Minnesota? I have known a number of very bright kids who attended Minnesota’s public LAC, called U of MN-Morris. One became a French professor, another a Biology professor, and another a diplomat. Its out-of-state tuition is barely above in-state prices, and even that they often waive. It has auto-merit for grades, and is test optional. It is a member of National Student Exchange, which allows students to do up to a year of exchange at participating schools across North America, while continuing to pay what they pay at Morris (and their scholarships travel with them I believe.) The downside is that it is in the middle of nowhere, Minnesota.
Wow what a great looking school @fiftyfifty1! I had never heard of it but lots to like…and it looks like the price for UCDProf’s daughter might be as low as $20k without competitive scholarships ($5k automatic and OOS tuition waiver assumed with this number).
Unfortunately, their competitive scholarships need application in by December 15th, though interested applicants could ask if they would still be considered past that date (I’m a big believer in “no ask, no get” in these situations).
The other Minnesota option I know of is ultra cheap, but it is super weird! It isn’t for everyone, but the students I know who have attended have had positive experiences. It is a 2 year college right on the border with Canada, near Voyagers National Park. Great for kids who like wilderness, camping, canoeing etc. It has an articulation agreement with the Minnesota State system. It does have dorms. Total cost (tuition and dorms) for OOS students is only $12,805 per year, but has auto merit on top of this (another $3,000) for A- and above students.
Oh whoops, and it is called Rainy River, and is located in International Falls, MN.
that’s an interesting community college, in terms of the cost of living cited there. nice.
one would have to factor in the cost of a presumed not-so-great transfer deal to 4-year and also, for health professions, whether science courses will cary Weight in admissions later. But presumably one could get a lot of other recs out of the way first, then try do all your science courses in one go in the last two years.
on the face of it, the 28k cost doesn’t come close to what other LACs can do. The auto merits would bring it down closer to the level of some private LACs, so for it to get lower in price, for someone who gets a lot of aid like we do, it would have to do something else. There is a vague statement about out of state tuition reductions but no details given. It could be worth someone attempting it and seeing what happens.
Yes, the attraction of Morris is the relatively low cost for families who make just enough that they don’t qualify for financial aid. For families who do qualify for FA, a private LAC may come in at the same cost (or even lower depending on Merit.)
What health profession is being considered?
Yeah, there are a number of 2 year colleges in MN that have low cost dorms. Probably in other states too, I just don’t know of them. I agree that you have to be careful about credits transferring, that is why it’s nice to have the articulation agreement already in place. An OOS student could transfer to Bemidji State (one of the articulation agreement schools) where OOS cost is the same as in-state. Bemidji also provides a number of remote classes, so a kid could get even more credits living at home during the summer, for example. Also auto-merit.I love the town of Bemidji, much more to do than in a super tiny place like International Falls. I am familiar with Bemidji due to Concordia Language Village camps which are located there. Another fun Minnesota town where a state college is located is Winona. It’s along the Mississippi River in bluff country. But OOS tuition more than in-state, sadly.
too early to say, but the higher up the food chain you go, the less community college credits in the core sciences is a good idea. Pre-meds for example should try to get as many core science credits as possible from a 4-year, and consult an advisor about taking any core at all (as opposed to listening to me on CC).