When students start creating their college list, smart families make sure they use the Net Price Calculator on all possibilities before adding them to the final list. Net Price Calculators (NPC) provide families with the estimated price they will pay after deducting for gift aid. This is called the average net price. Essentially, NPCs provide the average paid by students with similar financial backgrounds excluding loans and work-study. They have only been around since 2011 and can be a valuable tool for families targeting colleges generous with financial aid. However, they aren’t perfect and anyone who uses NPCs need to keep the following in mind:
Net Price Calculators: 8 Things You Must Know
(Updated for 2021) For real. There are 394 colleges where the average college scholarship (institutional grant or merit) is over $20,000, an increase of 32 schools compared to last year. What’s the catch? There are only 288 (up from 250 in 2020) schools where 90% or more of freshmen receive institutional grants. Surprisingly enough, there are only 28 schools where 50% or fewer of freshmen receive an institutional grant of $20,000 or more.
The excitement generated by acceptance letters so many high school seniors received before April 1 has morphed into anxiety if not outright panic as families’ finances have been turned upside down. What was an affordable college before COVID-19 may not be any more. Athletes face uncertainty about scholarship availability. And there are students who would just rather stay a little closer to home than when they first created their college list.
Most high school seniors are ready to breathe a big sigh of relief reaching their spring semester thinking they’re safe from making any college application mistakes. Unfortunately, the college admissions process doesn’t end just because you submitted your applications. In fact, even after completing all the college applications and submitting test scores, there are five things high school seniors can do to ruin their chances of attending college in September. And they don’t all have to do with being accepted-there are things other than rejection that can keep you from starting classes in the Fall.
(I’m taking a break from regular blogging and newsletters during the holidays. Hope you enjoy the DIY College Rankings version of the 12 Days of Christmas.)
(I’m taking a break from regular blogging and newsletters during the holidays. Hope you enjoy the DIY College Rankings version of the 12 Days of Christmas.)
(I’m taking a break from regular blogging and newsletters during the holidays. Hope you enjoy the DIY College Rankings version of the 12 Days of Christmas.)
