How to Estimate College Costs & Financial Aid
The cost of college continues to rise, and there is no end in sight. As such, many families are left wondering how they are going to pay the rising cost of college. In an effort to avoid taking on tens of thousands of dollars in college student loans, families often rule out colleges based on their sticker prices when putting together application lists. However, there are ways to estimate the cost of college specific to your family that would better allow you to put together a school list of affordable colleges without needlessly ruling out schools that could provide need-based and merit-based financial aid.
Estimate the Cost of College
Let’s take a look at how you can estimate your college costs and use that to better plan your college school list.
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College Cost Calculators
College cost calculators are free tools that allow you to estimate the cost of college. By inputting similar information that you will use to complete financial aid applications, you can use these free tools to get a sense of what a range of colleges will cost your family. This is most useful in the case of need-based financial aid.
You can use the calculators and other research tools to learn what you can expect from different types of colleges. There are four general types of schools for financial aid purposes: in-state public, out-of-state public, private schools that offer a mix of merit-based aid AND need-based aid, and private schools that only offer need-based aid.
Use the following tools to get a sense of what you can expect from colleges specific to your family’s financial profile:
Free College Cost Calculators
These tools take your personal financial information specific to your family and provide you with an estimate of the need-based financial aid you will receive at colleges.
Free College Scholarship Estimates
While it’s more difficult to estimate scholarships, you can use this school search tool through College Board to get a sense of average scholarships schools offer.
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There is a lot to be gained from our free general financial aid advice, but it’s also a very individual process. If you have remaining financial aid questions, email us to discuss more or book an individual session.