• First, let’s get one thing straight.  College costs have increased DRAMATICALLY in the past 30 years.  This is universal - costs are significantly higher everywhere. 

  • This is why it is so important to talk about cost.  Our aim isn’t to tell anyone what to do, but rather to make it easier to have the conversations about paying for college.

  • Every school in the United States publishes something called the Cost of Attendance on their website).  This is kind of like a sticker price on a car.  You can find the Cost of Attendance (COA) simply by googling the college name and the term “cost of attendance.” As your student looks into schools, it is important for them to get in the habit of looking up the COA.  This number doesn’t account for financial aid or scholarships, and includes expected costs beyond tuition, housing and food. These additional costs include travel, books, and personal expenses.

  • As you and your student look at these COA figures, it is likely that you will experience some sticker shock.  You are also likely to see a wide range of prices. 

  • We suggest tracking these numbers in a spreadsheet. We have an application tracker tool you can copy and use to do just this - CLICK HERE

  • As you and your student click around on university websites, you will find that every school has something called the Net Price Calculator - NPC for short. 

  • You can google <university name> + “net price calculator” to jump right to it.

  • You may be wondering what the Net Price Calculator is and how it differs from the Cost of Attendance.

  • As we mentioned in our previous video, the Cost of Attendance is a listing that is sort of like a sticker price.  It also serves some other purposes that aren’t that relevant to this discussion.

  • The Net Price Calculator asks for some basic information from your student - information on grades, financial situation, test scores, residency, and things like that.  It is quick and basic - it only takes a few minutes to fill it out.  The Net Price Calculator takes that input and calculates what the actual cost to your family is likely to be.  This means it is estimating any need-based financial aid your student might receive, as well as any merit aid money your student might receive (we will talk about those things in more detail in our next two videos).  It is an estimate only, but if you and your student provide consistent inputs, the NPC calculations will give you a much better picture of what the actual cost to your family will likely be.

  • Universities and colleges don’t retain or track this information.  The NPC is provided as a tool for families to use.

  • Just like the COA, your student should enter these NPC figures on their application tracking tool.  If you don’t have a tracker tool, feel free to copy and use our template.

  • Running the NPCs around the dining room table, with your student involved, is a great way to open the conversation about college costs.

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