Popular Education Website Now Helps Families Compare College Costs, Calculate Return on College Investment

BOSTON, March 1, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Edmit, a startup founded by former university executives to bring transparency to otherwise murky college pricing and value, today announced the launch of a new feature that allows high school students and families to make side-by-side comparisons and get personalized reports that include estimated financial aid, detailed cost of attendance, and debt and earnings following graduation. The reports, for the first time, offer a comprehensive look at the financial investment and outcomes associated with a given college decision for families.

"It's nearly impossible for parents and families to understand the true cost of college. It's a black box," said Nick Ducoff, who co-founded Edmit after serving as a Vice President at Northeastern University in Boston. "The data tell us that only about 12% of students at private colleges actually pay full tuition, but sticker shock can cause massive stress, in some cases discouraging students and families from pursuing the college that might be best for them. Nobody knows whether they are getting a good deal or if it will be a good investment."

Although the U.S. Department of Education estimates that nearly three quarters of undergraduate students receive some form of financial aid, students have historically had no way of estimating the amount or likelihood of aid before they apply to school, or evaluate their financial aid letters to see how their awards compare to other similar students admitted to their college. 

Edmit's unique algorithms enable users to quickly compare their personal information with historical financial aid data from colleges and universities to estimate how much they should expect to pay for school. Students and families can also access reports that compare the total costs of attendance, personalized recommendations for optimizing financial aid awards, and estimated debt and earnings following graduation from all the schools they're interested in, displayed through several easy-to-understand graphs. Families can also access one-on-one consultations with college finance experts to receive guidance through the financial aid process.

"Too many families make what is often the biggest financial decision of their lives on emotional factors or gut instinct," said Sabrina Manville, Edmit's co-founder, and a former Southern New Hampshire University executive. "Colleges increasingly have to behave more like businesses, and students should see themselves as consumers; this is a true investment, so how will you ensure you are maximizing your payoff? We're trying to make pricing and financial aid more transparent so that students and families can make better informed decisions and find the right college match."

To get a free college report, visit https://www.edmit.me/reports/free. 

About Edmit
Edmit was founded by innovative university leaders passionate about student success. Our mission is to create greater price and value transparency in higher education, reducing debt and improving outcomes for students and their families.

SOURCE Edmit