For students and their families, deciding whether and where to go to college is one of the most important financial decisions they will ever make. However, unlike buying a computer, house, or car, most prospective students do not know how much it will cost them to attend a particular school until many of their choices about college have already…

By providing early, individualized estimates of college costs and financial aid, net price calculators can help prospective college students and their families look past often scary "sticker prices" and start figuring out which colleges they might be able to afford. These online tools, currently available on almost all college websites, can help…

Reports trends over a recent nine-year period in student access to and choice of public or private college as related to availability of monetary awards from one of the largest state student financial aid agencies, the Illinois State Scholarship Commission. Survey responses indicate that state awards foster access to Illinois college and…

This resource book for parents is aimed at helping families take specific actions to properly prepare their children--both academically and financially--for college. Chapter 1 addresses some general questions about college, including: the reasons for attending college; the types of colleges, including community colleges, technical and junior…

An empirical approach is taken to the problem of predicting effects of student financial aid programs on postsecondary enrollment rates and patterns. A model of students' enrollment decisions is developed and used to estimate the likely effects of alternative award policies for the Basic Educational Opportunity Grant (BEOG) program. The analysis…