When the info package omits tuition costs
If you've done any research on colleges by way of the internet,
you've probably found that colleges vary tremendously in the kinds
of information you can get online. Most college websites are quick
to help you find their myriad programs of study, their phenomenal
mission statements, and certainly how great life on campus can be.
But when it comes to telling you the cost of tuition? Unfortunately,
many college websites are not so forthcoming. It seems that some
actually expect you to apply for admission without knowing the answer
to that ultra important question: Just how much will it cost me?
I for one find it maddening to look and look and look through layers
of web pages and still not find tuition information. Just as annoying
is finding a delineation of exactly how much each credit hour will
cost, but that's all. Unfortunately, it doesn't help me in the slightest
to know how much one hour costs when I have no idea how many hours
per term are considered full time, nor how terms there are! It surprises
me how difficult it can be simply to determine whether the college
runs on a semester or quarter schedule.
Then there are those that expect me to ask by mail or to have a
representative call me for more information. Sorry, but I'd rather
not. If the website refuses to tell me how much the college will
cost me, I can only assume that it's quite a pretty penny.
So how DO you find out how much these colleges cost?
Fortunately, I've found a way around the websites' concealment
of tuition figures. Here's how the inquiring mind can discover what
it wants to know:
We find the tuition figures by depending on a third-party reporting
website - The College Board.
- Go to www.collegeboard.com
- Right there on the first page you can type in the name of the
college you're looking at and search for it by name.
- The search will retrieve for you every college similar to that
name. Click on the one that you want to see.
- The next page shows much information about that college. Look
for the box called "Cost & Financial Aid" - It's
pretty much right smack in the center of choices (third row, third
box).
And there you go. You'll get the cost of tuition and fees for an
entire year, both for in-state and out-of-state students.
* * *
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