New Service Helps Students Accurately Determine Tuition

When I first started college, I was told that tuition would run about $4,000 a year. What they failed to mention is that fees, living expenses, books, and other necessary parts of college would run my first year total up to nearly $10,000! That’s a pretty big difference, and certainly one that my family was not expecting. Evidently my experience is a pretty common one.
Many students start college with a tuition figure they expect it to cost and end up paying a lot more than that number, which can lead to large student debts. If only there was a company that would help students see what their real costs for college are going to be. Oh wait, now there is!
A new website, StudentAid.com is offering students a “personalized, side-by-side comparison of the net costs of college and student aid eligibility to help students and their families choose colleges that fit their career goals and bank account.”
StudentAid.com was established in September 2009. The company allows students and their families to compare the actual out-of-pocket expenses of different colleges before they even apply.
“Families have been deprived of, yet desperately need, insight into their out-of-pocket college costs to ensure [that] they make a smart choice academically and financially,” said Craig V. Carroll, StudentAid.com founder. “Our service demystifies college costs and empowers students and families with comparative information to give them early insight into how to plan and pay for college.”
Students can use the self-service, College Cost & Planning Report program on the company’s website to compare and contrast up to ten schools of their choice for $49. Or if students prefer, an advisor-assisted telephone service will help students with the program for $99. For those whose household income is less than $40,000, StudentAid.com offers a free evaluation of up to six schools of the student’s choosing.
“Higher education is one of the most important and largest investments families make,” said Bob Ballard, the senior vice president of USA Funds, the largest student loan guarantor. “Unfortunately, many families select a college or university based on an incomplete picture of their out-of-pocket costs.”
StudentAid.com helps students and their families pick a college that is perfect for them: financially and academically.
Via StudentAid.com Press Release.