Starting typically in February, families will begin to receive financial aid letters from colleges and universities where their student was accepted. These letters are often confusing and hard to compare; there is no standard form used by schools. Families are left confused about whether an offer is just for one year or renewable and/or are grants really loans, etc.

But recently, a new initiative was created by a task force organized by leaders from 10 higher education associations to create the College Cost Transparency Initiative. It calls for colleges and universities to follow standards that include simple and easy to understand language to explain their financial aid package so families are not left confused.

Currently, 485 institutions are signed up to partner with the College Cost Transparency Initiative. It is a drop in the bucket but it is a start to help families navigate financial aid.

The College Cost Transparency Initiative aims to improve “clarity, accuracy and understanding of student financial aid offers by producing a set of guidelines and principles and minimal standards to be used when communicating aid offers.” (www.collegeprice.org)

Institutions can join on a rolling basis. The majority of schools that have joined are public (81%) but that’s not surprising since that’s roughly the breakdown of how many students attend public institutions vs. private institutions.

For more and current information go to: www.collegeprice.org