Kevin McCormally: I am Kevin McCormally of Kiplinger's and I am here with Jane Clark, an Associate Editor of Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine to talk about paying for a college education.
Jane, the stories are amazing that how much it cost to go to college these days. What does it cost for a private college or University education in America today?
Jane Clark: Well, for a really elite institution say Swarthmore or one of the top tier schools you are looking at about $160,000 for the four years education.
Kevin McCormally: A $160,000.
Jane Clark: Right, it's a lot.
Kevin McCormally: Okay I understand you have just done a survey of values in private educations and you talk about a lot of aid, student aid out there. What is available? How much can they bring the price tag down to that parents actually have to pay?
Jane Clark: Well there is need-based aid and there is merit aid and depending on what kind you get, you can bring the cost down by half anyway. It is worth more for instance the average need-based package does cut the sticker price to about $20,000.
Kevin McCormally: How does a parent find out what kind of aid is available at various colleges, and how to get it for their kid?
Jane Clark: You can go to Kiplinger.com and click on Best Values in Private Colleges and also Best Values in Public Colleges and you look at each school's financial aid policy and also check to see what kind of students they are bringing in. You can compare that to your own circumstances and kind of strategize as to which school best suits you.
Kevin McCormally: So we can actually go to Kiplinger.com, look at the 100 best values in public or private colleges and see them. What else can you learn from the stuff that you put on the web?
Jane Clark: Well it is interesting to see which kinds of financial aid each school gives. Some schools give much more merit aid than others. The top institutions, as I say, really only focus on the need-based aid. But there are plenty of lower tier schools and that includes pretty much everyone, who do share the wealth with families who are not going to qualify for a need based aid. So you can identify those schools and see what your chances are.
Kevin McCormally: Jane can you give me a breakdown between loans which students have to pay back and grants which are really free money?
Jane Clark: You are really more likely to get loans, but some schools give a high percentage of grants than others. So you can go online and see which schools those are than you will know when you open up your financial aid package whether you are going to get -- more likely to get loans or that good free money.
Kevin McCormally: Okay thank you Jane.
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