Federal Shutdown Impacts College Cost Calculators

Career College Central summary:

Until the government shutdown, parents could head to the federal College Navigator to use the calculators which provide parents with a personalized estimate of what any college or university will cost them before their child ever applies. To use these calculators, parents must plug in their tax and financial information and often information about their child's academic profile and in return a school 's calculator will provide the estimated net price for that particular child after any scholarships and grants are deducted.
By getting an advance look at potential financial aid and merit scholarships at specific schools, families can make better decisions about which colleges are worth targeting.
Thanks to the federal government's shutdown, however, the most publicly accessible source for net price calculators is out of commission. The College Navigator represents a one-stop shop for families who want to access the net price calculators for thousands of schools.
Parents can find net price calculators on the website of any school, but consumer advocates have complained that they can be difficult to find. A study by the Institute for College Access & Success concluded that some net price calculators were "buried deep within school websites."

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