College cost website raises questions about Romney’s higher-ed stance

The for-profit Florida university that Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney supports as a model for holding down college costs is one of the country’s priciest schools, according to a new Education Department (ED) website that helps prospective students compare tuition costs.

The College Affordability & Transparency Center, launched June 12, compares college and university net prices, or the tuition and fee costs minus grant and scholarship money given to its students. The federal website also lets students see where net college prices are rising at the fastest rate.

Full Sail University, a school based in Winter Park, Fla., has the third highest net price of all U.S. for-profit colleges, and it costs more for students than any public or nonprofit college, according to the Transparency Center’s online calculator.…Read More

Choosing a college without knowing its cost

Imagine having to make a decision about a house or car purchase without knowing exactly what it costs. That is more or less the situation facing many high school seniors this month and next, the Washington Post reports. Colleges strongly encourage— even pressure— students to make an enrollment commitment as early as possible in the admission cycle, even when they have not yet posted tuition, fees and living expenses for the coming academic year. May 1 is the customary deadline, but students are encouraged to commit sooner. Many of the nation’s most popular public universities don’t set tuition until April or May, or even June or July, because they don’t know how much money they will be receiving from their states. Students who troll for tuition data on the admission page will find data for the current academic year, but not for next year. That group includes the University of Maryland, the College of William and Mary, Penn State, the University of North Carolina, the University of Michigan, Indiana University and the University of the District of Columbia

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