Why Pay Sticker Price for College?
October 20, 2011
This past summer I had to finally replace my trusty mini-van after almost a decade. Frankly, I was ready to move on to something non-van! I started my research of reviews and price. We did buy new and of course, we did not pay sticker price. No one does, right? So can the same sticker price rule also apply to college? Yes!
Sticker Price
Sticker price for college is the total Cost of Attendance (COA). This means tuition + room/board + books + fees. Note: COA is not just tuition + room/board!
Many families look at the sticker price of college, particularly private schools, and run scared. This is a mistake, in most cases. Let’s use a few examples from Ohio where college choices are abundant. By using the Department of Education’s College Navigator, we have all the data we need to prove our point.
There are two figures we are interested in to see the difference between sticker price and net price at a school. After pulling up your school, go to the second section, “Tuition, Fees, and Estimated Student Expenses” then on down to “Total Expenses”. In this case, we are going to use the less daunting in-state figures for a student living on campus in 2009-2010. That number is $24,159. Sounds in line with what you likely expected.
For our comparison school, we’ll examine Ohio Wesleyan just north of OSU. A private school and one recognized by one of my favorite non-profits, Colleges That Change Lives. Sticker price for that same year comes in at $46,438. Gasp!
The Good News
Much like the True Price Comparison I was able to find when looking at cars, you can find the data for colleges. Scroll down the school’s data to put the smile back on your face. Under the “Net Price” section, you will find the data, broken out by income bracket, for what people are really paying to attend the school. Let’s go with the highest income bracket, $110,001 and above. In 2009-2010 (the most recent figures), students paid $22, 421 to attend Ohio State. Those from that same income level attending Ohio Wesleyan paid a net price of $26,057. Furthermore, Ohio Wesleyan has a better four year graduation rate than OSU (54% OWU v. 49% OSU). For some, it may be worth the extra $4,000 to attend a smaller school with PhD’s teaching class instead of teaching assistants (they don’t have any).
Read Between the Lines
Another Ohio example is the highly selective Denison University just east of Columbus. With a COA over $47,000, they don’t even report the net price for those in the highest income bracket. That can’t be good for the pocketbook. You’ll find other schools where the net price disappoints, but there are plenty out there that make it almost, or in some cases, more affordable to go private! Do your homework
Article reprinted with permission from LEAP's College Bound Blog by:
Lisa Mader
President, LEAP
www.leaprogram.com
NEW** Our College Bound Blog!
www.facebook.com/leaprogram Daily Tips for Families
513-754-2240
Sticker Price
Sticker price for college is the total Cost of Attendance (COA). This means tuition + room/board + books + fees. Note: COA is not just tuition + room/board!
Many families look at the sticker price of college, particularly private schools, and run scared. This is a mistake, in most cases. Let’s use a few examples from Ohio where college choices are abundant. By using the Department of Education’s College Navigator, we have all the data we need to prove our point.
There are two figures we are interested in to see the difference between sticker price and net price at a school. After pulling up your school, go to the second section, “Tuition, Fees, and Estimated Student Expenses” then on down to “Total Expenses”. In this case, we are going to use the less daunting in-state figures for a student living on campus in 2009-2010. That number is $24,159. Sounds in line with what you likely expected.
For our comparison school, we’ll examine Ohio Wesleyan just north of OSU. A private school and one recognized by one of my favorite non-profits, Colleges That Change Lives. Sticker price for that same year comes in at $46,438. Gasp!
The Good News
Much like the True Price Comparison I was able to find when looking at cars, you can find the data for colleges. Scroll down the school’s data to put the smile back on your face. Under the “Net Price” section, you will find the data, broken out by income bracket, for what people are really paying to attend the school. Let’s go with the highest income bracket, $110,001 and above. In 2009-2010 (the most recent figures), students paid $22, 421 to attend Ohio State. Those from that same income level attending Ohio Wesleyan paid a net price of $26,057. Furthermore, Ohio Wesleyan has a better four year graduation rate than OSU (54% OWU v. 49% OSU). For some, it may be worth the extra $4,000 to attend a smaller school with PhD’s teaching class instead of teaching assistants (they don’t have any).
Read Between the Lines
Another Ohio example is the highly selective Denison University just east of Columbus. With a COA over $47,000, they don’t even report the net price for those in the highest income bracket. That can’t be good for the pocketbook. You’ll find other schools where the net price disappoints, but there are plenty out there that make it almost, or in some cases, more affordable to go private! Do your homework
Article reprinted with permission from LEAP's College Bound Blog by:
Lisa Mader
President, LEAP
www.leaprogram.com
NEW** Our College Bound Blog!
www.facebook.com/leaprogram Daily Tips for Families
513-754-2240
Posted by Kristin Goecke. Posted In : College Bound
