Choosing Colleges

One of the biggest factor that affect the decision of applicant’s when it comes to choosing colleges is the fee’s estimate displayed by university.But for many people the reality can be different than what they expect it to be.Many time the college expense they have to face is much less than college sticker’s price.

A new study of recent college applicants illustrates just how widespread the sticker price myth is. Fifty nine percent of students said they only looked at college price tags when deciding which schools they should send applications.

According to the Student Poll, which was produced by the College Board and Art & Science Group, a higher-ed consulting firm, only 28% of applicants considered the net cost of college. That’s the actual cost that families pay after they receive grants and other financial aid.

While tuition prices have indeed been rising faster than inflation for years, the real cost of college has been dropping because of college grants and to a much lesser extent federal tax benefits.

Here are 2009-2010 figures from the College Board that show the wide gap between published college tuition and actual costs:

Type of College Published Tuition Actual Price

Community colleges……… $2,544 $0

State universities……………$7,020 $1,600

Private colleges………………$26,273 $11,900

According to federal financial aid statistics, 64.4 percent of full-time college students receive college grants.

Bottom line:

When you are choosing colleges, don’t initially rule out any college based on the sticker price. Ask a school about what your net cost would be.And check the statistics of the financial aid provide to previous year students.All the universties provide such data.Usually big and prestigious universities tend to have more finanacial aid for instance MIT.so don’t make the cost a major factor in your decision to choose college.