I would advise creating a spreadsheet with all the financial info. @UTmeritseeker has talked about how their family created one and may have some suggestions.
This is what I would probably do when considering different colleges:
Since the image isn’t workable for those using text readers, I’ve pasted the chart in below. But it helps to keep track of the factors involved in figuring out how much a school is likely to cost, whether it can get down further in costs via merit, etc. I also highlighted the box that shows the likeliest cost for a student, particularly when comparing the profile of a student to the rest of the school and what percentage of a school receives merit money.
| Loans in NPC | Auto Merit | Average Merit | Enrolled Students Profile | Additional Merit Considerations | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| School | Tuition, Room & Board Costs | NPC | Did NPC include loans? | If yes, amount in loans included. | If yes, add amount of loans to NPC as actual cost. | Did NPC include merit aid? | If no, automatic merit amount | Cost of T, R&B minus Auto merit | % of students w/o need receiving merit aid | Average merit aid award | Cost of T, R&B minus average merit | 25-75% SAT range | 25-75% ACT range | % of students who submit SAT | % of students who submit ACT | % of students in 1st year class who have a higher GPA than your kid | Does Merit stack with financial aid? | Do merit awards stack on one another? | Maximum award available | Guess as to likehood of Receiving merit |
| A | $87,654 | $54,321 | Yes | $5,500 | $59,821 | No | N/A | $59,821 | 7% | $70,000 | $17,654 | 1450-1550 | 33-35 | 60% | 30% | 40% | No, but replaces loans | No | Full Ride | Highly Unlikely |
| B | $87,654 | $54,321 | No | N/A | $54,321 | No | N/A | $87,654 | 0% | $0 | $87,654 | 1450-1550 | 33-35 | 60% | 30% | 40% | N/A | N/A | N/A | Impossible |
| C | $65,432 | $59,932 | Yes | $5,500 | $65,432 | Yes | $15,000 | $50,432 | 40% | $7,500 | $57,932 | 1150-1250 | 23-26 | 50% | 50% | 10% | No | Yes, up to tuition | Full Ride | Guaranteed |
| D | $65,432 | $59,932 | Yes | $5,500 | $65,432 | No | N/A | N/A | 97% | $33,210 | $32,222 | 1150-1250 | 23-26 | 50% | 50% | 10% | No | Yes, up to tuition | Full Ride | Highly Likely |