The National Center for Education Statistics offers a “College Navigator” tool that will let you look up colleges to get general information, admissions statistics, and most interestingly, detailed financial aid information.
Here’s an example from the entry for Colgate University:
First you get detailed information of the full cost of attendance (not just the tuition).
Then you get detailed information about the distribution of aid. How much of it was in the form of scholarships? How much consisted of loans that need to be paid back? Many colleges claim that they meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. But not all financial aid is created equal, and it's helpful to know just how much of each kind is typically being given out.
Here's the information on financial aid for all students, not just freshmen. Why is that important? If the aid for all students is significantly lower than that for freshmen, it could mean that the college gives more generous aid to encourage students to attend only to decrease that aid once they've spent a year or two at the school and are less likely to want to leave.
And finally, the last table shows what the average family, arranged by income, actually paid for the first year at Colgate. Note to families who say, "We're not applying for aid because we know we won't qualify": Families who made more than $110,000 paid an average of $27,892 of the $55,570 cost of attendance. When in doubt, fill out your FAFSA and apply for financial aid.
Finally, a link to the Net Price Calculator–a tool to let you input your financial aid information and get an estimate of how much aid you could receive under each school's formula–is included at the bottom.
Susie Watts says
As a private college counselor, I am very pleased to see your post. I think College Navigator is a great site and one that really helps students and their families understand the financial aid process. It is confusing enough as it is, but at least they can get a feel for the different types of aid available and what they might expect from different schools.