Information and uncertainty in college enrollment decisions: Assessing the accuracy and use of college cost calculators

• In Event: 54.018 - Promising Scholarship in Education: Dissertation Fellows and Their Research

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the accuracy of college cost calculators and how this information influences college enrollment decisions. Net prices – what students actually pay for college, as opposed to list prices – are critical to college enrollment decisions; but despite their importance, net prices are stubbornly opaque, and remain so until students complete complex federal aid forms and receive financial aid packages. For many students, the real out-of-pocket costs to go to college are unknown until after they have made important enrollment decisions. Net prices are important, and should be as transparent as possible as soon as possible in the college exploration, application, and selection process. Net Price Calculators (NPCs) are part of a suite of online college search tools introduced by the U.S. Department of Education in recent years, and are intended to improve information in the college search process. However, we lack specific insight into their accuracy, and therefore, their usefulness.

Author

• Aaron Anthony, University of Pittsburgh