The National Center for College Costs’ newest product is the Net Price Calculator, a customizable tool that allows students and their families to gather estimates of “net price” at individual colleges.
The term “net price” refers to an estimate of what a student might pay to attend a college or university, after subtracting financial aid from the cost of attendance. As of October 29, 2011, colleges and universities serving first-time, full-time undergraduate students across the country will be required by the federal government to post a Net Price Calculator on their websites.
How It Works
By using the National Center for College Costs’ Net Price Calculator, a college can provide prospective students with an accurate estimate of net price. The Net Price Calculator estimates an Expected Family Contribution (EFC) for each user and collects select academic information, yielding a more complete assessment of a student’s potential financial aid eligibility. The result? Better information for the user and a more accurate picture of the college’s financial aid tendencies.
Key features of the National Center for College Costs’ Net Price Calculator include:
- Detailed estimates of Expected Family Contribution to more accurately assess potential aid eligibility – federal, state and institutional
- Easy-to-use student interface with built-in explanations and technical guidance
- Step-by-step process for easy entry of institutional aid data
- Auto-provided paragraphs and text, with editing options, to make customization faster and easier for institutions
- Ability to incorporate unique institutional aid factors, such as use of an alternate methodology, when necessary
- Standard option to capture user information, with permission, for the purposes of admission follow-up
- Standard analytics and reporting options to show where users are coming from geographically, average aggregate financial profiles of users, and more
- Competitive pricing with discounts for multi-year license agreements
For institutions looking for a more robust solution to the net price calculator requirement than the minimal federal template provided by the Department of Education but not sure they care to incur the time and expense of creating and maintaining one internally, our Net Price Calculator may be the solution. Contact the National Center for College Costs today to learn more, including how the Net Price Calculator can be customized for your institution and integrated into your admissions activities!