Financial Aid Offers: Action Needed to Improve Information on College Costs and Student Aid
December 5, 2022
The ways colleges present cost and aid information in their financial aid offers vary—making it difficult for students to compare offers and assess college affordability. According to best practices, colleges should estimate the net price—how much a student will pay to attend that college—by deducting only grants and scholarships from all key costs like tuition, books, housing, and meals. But about 91% of colleges understate or don’t include the net price in their offers.
Federal law doesn’t require colleges to include clear, standard information in all of their financial aid offers. Congress should consider mandating that colleges do so.
What GAO Found
Most colleges are not following best practices for providing clear and standard information in their financial aid offers. According to GAO’s review of financial aid offers from a nationally representative sample of colleges, nearly two-thirds of colleges follow half or fewer of the 10 best practices. No college in GAO’s sample followed all 10. For example, according to best practices, a college should estimate the net price—how much a student will need to pay to attend that college—by deducting only grants and scholarships from all key costs (e.g., tuition, fees, housing and meals, books, and living expenses). However, GAO found that an estimated 91 percent of colleges do not include or understate the net price in their aid offers (see figure).
