Overcome 3 common challenges of net price calculators


Net price calculators may be good in theory – the online tools give families a picture of which colleges are affordable – but using them can present some challenges, U.S. News reports.

To give an estimated cost to attend a given school, the tools ask users to input data such as age, parental income and household size. A calculator will then tabulate what the students might pay after potential grants or scholarships are factored in.

While the federal government mandates that all schools have a net price calculator on their websites, some are finding ways to skirt the requirement, says Diane Cheng with The Institute for College Access & Success.

As a result, the online cost calculators can be hard to find, hard to use and hard to understand, but students and families shouldn’t let that scare them away, she says.

Read more

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter: Innovations in K12 Education
By submitting your information, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.

Oops! We could not locate your form.

Sign up for our newsletter

Newsletter: Innovations in K12 Education
By submitting your information, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.