<p>Article in Slate magazine:
Comparing</a> college costs: There ought to be a better way?and there is! - By Annie Lowrey - Slate Magazine</p>
<p>It’s not the federal government’s job or business to do this. Schools are often privately run or state run.</p>
<p>Not saying it has to be done by the government. Nonetheless, the differing formats for COA and FA make cost comparisons difficult. It would be great if the colleges could agree on a standard format.</p>
<p>As for the private or state status of schools, almost all participate in federal financial aid programs. In addition, financial institutions and consumers participating in financial aid programs are subject to federal laws and regulations. </p>
<p>[Comparison</a> Shopping for College](<a href=“http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/10/college_comparison_shopping.html]Comparison”>Issues - Center for American Progress)</p>
<p>i hate to say it but i don’t think colleges are too interested in helping the consumer compare costs effectively. have you tried to navigate some of these sites? they have page after page on their vision statements and their motto and photographs of attractive people playing frisbee but you have to dig to find financial aid info and current cost info! they’re not all like this but enough of them are. take that with the nonstandard format and vague promises/terminology (is a loan that anyone can get really ‘financial aid’? is need-based aid a ‘scholarship’?)</p>
<p>Collegeboard website lets you compare offers, you plug in your own numbers. </p>
<p>I have always done my own Excel Spreadsheet which shows, merit, need-based grants, loans, Work Study, for my four children. “GPA Needed to keep Merit” is one column, too. </p>
<p>Bottom lines read “what student will borrow” “what Mom & Dad will pay out of pocket”. </p>
<p>It is the family’s responsibility to do their own research in order to find the college that best suits their applicant & their ability to pay for it. Unfortunately many families will do more research on buying an HD TV than on looking for a college for their child. </p>
<p>USNWR’s has “Great Schools Great Prices”
Fiske Guide has his “Best Buy” </p>
<p>Loans are considered “self help” financial aid. </p>
<p>Buy “Paying for College Without Going Broke” Kalman Chany, Princeton Review.
Get both the 2010 & 2011 Edition, as the 2011 Edition drops the IM (Institutional Methodology) calculation. I highly recommend the book.</p>
<p>The 55 mph speed limit was not a federal law … however to receive matching federal highway funds states needed to impose a 55 mph limit.</p>
<p>If I was the czar of all things college related … using the Federal “Transparency in College Cost/Financial Aid Form” isnt required by any college … however to receive any federal Title IX money or to be eligible to receive federal research grants a college must use the form.</p>
<p>Xiggi, Mini, and SoosieVT have gracisously volunteered to design the form which will be implement in time for the spring 2012 acceptence offers. </p>
<p>Problem solved … and even though written as a joke I think this would be a HUGE step forward to help families.</p>
<p>Czar 3togo signing off</p>
<p>actually, I think the feds do have requirements on need calculations to be eligible for Pell and other federal loans. In other words, the feds dictate the costs of what must be included for the average student’s COA.</p>
<p>The fact that colleges display it differently is no different than your local retailer.</p>
<p>btw: one of my peeves is calling “loans” financial aid. But that is a government requirement.</p>
<p>*one of my peeves is calling “loans” financial aid. But that is a government requirement. *</p>
<p>I agree. It really distorts the numbers that schools use to declare how much need-base aid they are awarding. If many/most students have a $5500-7500 student loan every year, that alone makes up much of the aid that many schools award. </p>
<p>I do think that on the FA page for each college on Collegeboard they should should have separate line items for Pell/fed grants, state grants, etc…so that those who know that they don’t qualify for those grants, won’t get confused by the given amount of grants awarded. It is meaningless info, if a school awarded $3million in grants, if most/all were Pell/fed grants that many won’t qualify for because their EFCs are over that low qualifying amount.</p>
<p>It is also meaningless to see the “average FA awarded” or to see the number of students who had full need met (unless 100%). Who cares if a school says it met the need of 70% of the students? Those 70% may have had very high EFCs, so a 5500 student loan and work-study may have covered that need. The student who has a $10k EFC may have been given a $20k+ gap!</p>
<p>The take-away, Zapfino, is that the Government is part of the problem…so how can it be part of the solution?</p>
<p>I don’t see a better way. You get a very personal, in depth analysis of your finances and credentials and from that you get a financial aid/merit package if anything. You then subtract that award and any other scholarships you get from the college COAs and compare. What counts is what you have left to pay. This is as individualized as one can get.</p>
<p>I realize that room and board costs will vary by school/location.</p>
<p>But…for COA…all should assume a certain number of meals for its meal plan estimation…such 10-14 meals per week. </p>
<p>But, I do think schools should adopt a more standard “personal expenses” and “transportation” amounts. It’s ridiculous to see schools claim some low amount in transportation costs…and kids are coming from OOS. I can see having 2 different choice/amounts…one for those from the region…and one for those coming from 250 miles plus.</p>
<p>I hear you mom2, meals should be a standard package, including the weekend meals.</p>
<p>But transportation is one of those really categories, like books. For example, if 50% of students at Cal Berkeley are less than a 3 hour drive from home, and 90% are within an 8 hour drive from home, should the University then be required to factor in air fare to its COA for the OOS’ers? What about Internationals?</p>
<p>The question is where do you draw a line? Is ‘250 miles’ air-fare worthy? 500+? What about a clothing allowance for those from warm weather schools going north? (Dartmouth actually has a coat allowance for Internationals who hail from the tropical climes.)</p>
<p>For lit majors, books can be really cheap. But science majors will tend to spend way more than the standard COA allowance.</p>
<p>Transportation is another one that is kind of wonky. I’ve seen costs for IS students in Virginia that were in the $600 - $1000 range – the only way I could see that happening would be if you gave your kid a diamond-powered Cadillac! sure, it’s a big state compared to, say, RI but come on!</p>
<p>^^^ I too wonder how they calculate transportation costs. Even just commuting from home, don’t you need to factor in the (high) cost of car insurance?! Often if a student goes far away to school the insurance can be dropped or greatly reduced.</p>
<p>It seems to me that there is a varied idea of what constitutes as “transportation costs.”</p>
<p>It seems that it can include some/much of the following…</p>
<p>airfare to and from home twice a year</p>
<p>gas to and from home twice a year</p>
<p>gas around town during the school year.</p>
<p>public transportation/metro pass for around town during the school year</p>
<p>parking decal for car</p>
<p>car insurance for car</p>
<p>I don’t know if an accurate COA can ever be determined that accurately applies for every student at any particular school.</p>
<p>Parents say that their D’s use smaller meal plans than their S’s.</p>
<p>for example, at my children’s schools right now, they can’t bring cars on campus during their first year (eliminating the cost of gas, at least), you have to live on campus or at home, and there are only 3 on-campus meal plans available and they are each roughly the same price (maybe $100 difference maximum) so even if your daughter eats 1/4th as much as your son you still have to buy almost the same meal plan). i agree that it’s probably not possible to get an individualized coa from a college. chances are some will find the amount to be inflated while others will find it implausible.</p>
<p>* they can’t bring cars on campus during their first year (eliminating the cost of gas, at least), you have to live on campus or at home, and there are only 3 on-campus meal plans available and they are each roughly the same price (maybe $100 difference maximum) so even if your daughter eats 1/4th as much as your son you still have to buy almost the same meal plan).*</p>
<p>Without the ability to have a car on campus can still lead to “transportation expenses” throughout the year. Taxis, public transportation, renting ZipCars, etc.</p>
<p>Your school’s meal plan price differences seem unusually small…After doing a quick look at some schools’ offerings, I’m seeing larger differences.</p>
<p>At my kids’ school…</p>
<p>Per SEMESTER…</p>
<p>Unlimited number of meals per semester: $1757
gold: 220 all you can eat meals: $1634
silver: 160 all you can eat meals: $1355
bronze: 90 all you can eat : $766 </p>
<p>And the above is PER SEMESTER…so a D might get by with the Silver plan for about 2700 per year…while a S may need the Unlimited plan at $3500 per year…a $800 difference. </p>
<p>BlueB… very good point about different majors having more or less expensive books. That said, I remember being shocked how much the “book package” for an Intensive Review Spanish class was…it was like $225! It had a book, a workbook, and some kind of listening/practice CD.</p>
<p>some schools have on-campus buses that are free or nominal (included with the cost of attendance). That can really cut down on the cost of attendance. I doubt that my household transportation expenses. as far as meals, I can only speak to the schools that my kids have experience with. the younger S goes to JMU in Harrisonburg; they have a free bus service and can’t have cars on campus; transportation within the campus and to places in the city can be free. certainly there’s no reason to rack up $1,806 in transportation if you’re an in-state freshman every semester or even every year, unless you take a limo to class! </p>
<p>the most expensive meal plan cost $2078, and the next was $2005, and the cheapest was only $1912. there isn’t a noticeable difference in the amount of food you can get (the most expensive plan has 1 additional meal per day on week days but you get fewer Dining Dollars than in the others, so it’s really more if you like eating more in the dining halls than in the restaurants or vice-versa – probably not a noticeable correlation between that and sex). </p>
<p>W&M is very similar in the regard.</p>
<p>that’s why you probably can’t get an individual cost of attendance from the college itself. my kids didn’t have cars freshman year (so no car-related payments) and they were fine using the public transportation which was free. kids from out of state might have had plane or bus tickets. sophomores and up can and probably will bring cars, which all have different expenses related. if your school doesn’t offer meal plans for people who don’t eat a lot, or unlimited meal options, you won’t save very much money by eating less because the meal plans aren’t differentiated in that way (you don’t get reimbursed for having any meals or dining dollars left over).</p>