Another name for sticker price is the Cost of Attendance (COA). COA is the amount you pay to attend an institution in a single academic year (typically for the fall and spring term) including living expenses. COA depends on several factors including your tuition and fees, enrollment, personal expenses and is a school’s best guess of how much money you will need. However, since it is an estimated cost, your actual expenses may be higher or lower. Find out more about COA:
As you begin to compare college costs, keep in mind that paying for college will be easiest if you pick a school that is reasonably priced for you and your family’s financial situation. You will notice a wide variation in the “sticker” or published price of schools. While the sticker price is important, you should concentrate on net price which is how much you and your family will pay after receiving financial aid. The net price could be cheaper at a school with a higher sticker price than a school with a lower sticker price. For example, if school A has a sticker price of $30,000 and gives you $5,000 in financial aid, your net price is $25,000. If school B has a sticker price of $50,000 and gives you $30,000 in financial aid, your net price is $20,000. School B would be your least expensive option even though it has a higher sticker price.
- The USDOE provides a very useful tool, called the ‘Shopping Sheet’ or ‘College Financing Plan’ to enable students to compare financial aid awards from different schools - https://www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/guid/aid-offer/2021-22collfinanplantemplatnungrad.pdf. All schools are required to provide their financial aid awards in this format to make comparison easier for students. You may check your financial aid awards at FSU to get access to this.
Paying for college will be easiest if you pick a college that is reasonably priced for you and your family’s situation.
Net price calculators are available on a college’s or university’s website and allow prospective undergraduate students to enter information about themselves to find out what students like them paid to attend the institution in the previous year, after taking grants and scholarship aid into account. Find out more about net price calculators: