Built on US Dept of Education data
The $80,000 college can cost a middle-income family less than the state school once aid is in. Enter the colleges you're weighing and your income, and get what each one actually costs, side by side, with earnings, debt, and graduation rates.
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Why it matters
The published cost of attendance is a list price almost nobody pays. What a family actually pays, the net price after grants and scholarships, depends on income and can be a fraction of the sticker. Seen side by side, the ranking often flips, and a college crossed off for being "too expensive" turns out to be the cheapest on the list.
| College | Sticker | Real net price |
|---|---|---|
| Harvard University | $85,540 | $2,091 |
| University of Michigan | $34,654 | $4,895 |
| Ohio State University | $30,305 | $9,807 |
What you get
The federal government has the real numbers, but they're buried one college at a time. This pulls your shortlist into a single report you can weigh at the kitchen table.
01
What a family at your income actually pays after aid, not the list price on the website.
02
See how far the real cost falls below the published one, and how the ranking changes.
03
Median earnings ten years after entry, so price sits next to what the degree returns.
04
The median debt students actually leave with, alongside those earnings.
05
How many finish, and how selective it is, because a degree not finished still costs.
06
The lowest net price and the strongest earnings-to-debt on your list, called out.
Honest about the numbers
We'd rather be straight with you: the net price here is what families in your income band paid on average, in the most recent year the government reports. Your own aid offer depends on your full financial picture and can land above or below it. Treat this as a well-grounded way to compare colleges on real value and to spot which are worth an application, then confirm the exact figure with each college's net price calculator and your FAFSA and aid letters. It's the federal government's own data, presented straight.
How it works
Step 1
Up to four, plus your household income band.
Step 2
The College Scorecard net price, earnings, debt, and outcomes for each.
Step 3
Ranked, compared, and honest about value, in seconds.
