10 online financial aid & scholarship estimators...
This really is an area where colleges and universities have been very slow to adopt a marketing services attitude in an area that's of high interest to just about every family sending a child to college. That interest will express itself at different times during the recruitment cycles. An appropriate marketing approach will give people the opportunity to learn more about "real" rather than "sticker price" costs whenever they want to know that.
Approaches Vary from Simple to Complex
When you visit these links, you'll find very different approaches. Most but not all factor in possible scholarships for the bottom line, some are "just" cost calculators, and some are "only" for merit scholarships. Each represents a significant step in the right direction. Let's hope that even more schools will adopt a similar approach soon.
Some require you to have at hand fairly detailed information about family income and resources and others on require ACT or SAT score and high school or transfer GPA.
- Bradley University at https://admissions.bradley.edu/ssl/estimator/?status=viewtab1
- Dominican University at http://www.ican.dom.edu/ScholarshipCalculator/ScholarshipCalculator.aspx
- Fleming College, Ontario, at http://www.flemingc.on.ca/ProspectiveStudents/money/Calculator.htm
- Northern Arizona University at http://www4.nau.edu/finaid/types_of_aid/scholarships/estimator/estimator.asp
- St. Edward's University at http://www.gotostedwards.com/calculator/
- Southwestern University at http://www.southwestern.edu/financial-aid/cost/calc2.html
- The College of New Jersey at https://delphi.tcnj.edu:81/cgi-bin/tuitionestimator/estimate.cgi?step=1&selected=1
- University of Rochester at http://enrollment.rochester.edu/financial/estimator/
- University of Toledo at http://www.financialaid.utoledo.edu/estimator/
- Wilkes University at http://www.wilkes.edu/pages/570.asp
As with so many early adopters of marketing innovations, I'm always impressed by the lack of any "type of institution" pattern among these schools. We've got publics and privates, large and small schools, and very different enrollment profiles. At each place, somebody "gets it" and has decided to take a leadership position. Congratulations to everyone at these schools who helped show the way to others that will surely follow.
if you're reading this and have a similar feature at your website, let me know and help make the list grow. You can leave a comment or email me at bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com