Dive Brief:
- The University of Virginia and Williams College have adopted a financial aid calculator developed at Wellesley College that asks far fewer questions without a login than its federally mandated alternatives.
- The New York Times reports about 42,000 people have used the Wellesley calculator in the last two years to figure out how much the college would cost to attend, compared with about 5,000 who used the earlier version.
- The new calculator asks just eight questions and gives students an estimate of college cost that is supposed to be accurate for 90% of families.
Dive Insight:
Colleges with higher sticker costs and generous financial aid programs often have a hard time convincing lower-income students to even consider them. As these types of students become increasingly coveted by institutions looking to expand campus diversity, figuring out ways to reach them is key. Offering easy-to-use cost calculators is one way. Colby College in Maine has also succeeded in increasing applications in part by improving awareness of its financial aid program.