Our proprietary 5-star ranking system is based on published statistics from the Common Data Set. The information is based on data published by each school and reflects the cost for the average student.
Several metrics are tracked, including net cost, need-blind admission policies, whether an institution automatically considers applicants for merit scholarships and whether hard deadlines must be met for scholarship consideration.
A net-price calculator with tax forms is always the best way to get a personalized estimate of a financial aid package. That said, doing those calculations during the early stages of a student’s college planning is a lot of work. This is a simple way to consider affordability as part of their college plan.