NASFAA Mention: Publicizing Financial Aid Awards for All to See

"It would be extremely valuable if parents and teenagers had access to information about financial aid and merit awards that students elsewhere are receiving at schools that interest them," according to WealthManagement.com. 

"Seeing other award letters could provide families with leverage to potentially squeeze more money from colleges on their lists and also alert them to attractive packages from schools that hadn't even been on their radar but now could be.

TuitionFit.org, a new, ambitious higher-ed player, wants its online platform to make college pricing transparent for families across the country. The site is the brainchild of Mark Salisbury, a former admissions administrator at Augustana College in Illinois and the University of Iowa.

It would be extremely valuable if parents and teenagers had access to information about financial aid and merit awards that students elsewhere are receiving at schools that interest them.

Seeing other award letters could provide families with leverage to potentially squeeze more money from colleges on their lists and also alert them to attractive packages from schools that hadn't even been on their radar but now could be.

TuitionFit.org, a new, ambitious higher-ed player, wants its online platform to make college pricing transparent for families across the country. The site is the brainchild of Mark Salisbury, a former admissions administrator at Augustana College in Illinois and the University of Iowa.

'As consumers, we're asked to narrow our choices to a small number of schools from thousands of colleges out there and then narrow that down without being able to know the price,' Salisbury said. His aim is to reduce the need to make a final selection in a vacuum and, ultimately, help families save money.

TuitionFit encourages teenagers to upload their award letters and, in return, receive free access to aid offers that other students have posted. TuitionFit redacts all names and other personal information before posting the letters.

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To see a model award letter, you can take a look at the U.S. Department of Education’s Financial Aid Shopping Sheet. The federal government is currently revising this document and is renaming it the College Financing Plan.

The National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators recently released a comparison of the old and future model financial aid award templates."

NASFAA's "Notable Headlines" section highlights media coverage of financial aid to help members stay up to date with the latest news. Inclusion in Today's News does not imply endorsement of the material or guarantee the accuracy of information presented.

 

Publication Date: 2/21/2019

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