The College Costs Estimator service is tailored to meet the needs of each community we serve. Different schools, organizations and communities have different needs and funding support. Given this, we do our best to structure our program according to those needs and resources. There are, however, some basic program components:

1. The Promotional Activity

An initial promotional activity provides us with an opportunity to announce the College Costs Estimator program and inform families of who we are, what we do and why it is so important. We try to identify those natural opportunities in the school, community or work setting where we can reach the largest number of students and parents to achieve maximum outreach and participation. In many cases, the “promotional activity” is a group-based workshop with students. We have found that in some situations the best way to reach parents is through the students, not to mention the fact that the workshops themselves provide valuable lessons and information.

2. The Individual Family Analysis

As a part of the program, interested families fill out a College Costs Estimator which captures household information, both financial and demographic. This information is then run through our computer system where it is analyzed according to the current Federal Methodology which is used to determine eligibility for need-based financial aid. It is the same formula that most states and colleges typically use in whole or in part to determine their need-based aid eligibility. Confidential individual family reports are then prepared for each family based up on this analysis. 

3. The Group Workshop

The group workshop is where much of the education takes place and where the individual family reports are distributed. The workshop provides families with:

• An outline of the financial aid process and the Federal Methodology;
• Tips on how to maximize financial aid opportunities;
• Information on how to approach colleges, including the key financial aid questions to ask colleges and universities across the country;
• Insight into "financial aid friendly" investment strategies;
• Current cost information for area colleges and universities;
• And much more!

4. On-going Support via a Toll-Free "Lifeline" & Email

Perhaps the most unique feature of the College Costs Estimator service is that it is not a one-shot program for families. Those who participate have staff at Murray & Associates available to them via a toll-free phone line and email in the months and years ahead as they continue to have financial aid and college cost questions. The costs involved with this subsequent contact and assistance is built into the initial contracts with foundations, schools and businesses that support the front-end programming and workshops. Therefore, the ongoing support is free to families...there are no hidden costs or additional fees. (In fact, most families never pay any fees at all, as we try to find grants and other local funding sources to cover the costs of the programming.)

Important Program Notes:

1. The individual information provided by client families is kept strictly confidential and is not shared, sold or used by anyone outside the Murray & Associates organization, unless otherwise requested/authorized in writing by the family.

2. Murray & Associates does not guarantee that the information provided in the individual family analyses will match that of the U.S. Department of Education, individual colleges and universities and/or any other entity. The information provided is intended for families' educational benefit only and Murray & Associates does not make any guarantees regarding the financial aid eligibility of students. Because the rules governing financial aid change regularly, families should be aware that such changes may affect students' eligibility for financial aid and as such should review their situations regularly.

Read more about:

Frequently Asked Questions and

Program Overview