The Audit: Is Your Cost-of-Attendance Page Making Families Work Too Hard?

I reviewed more than 80 college cost-of-attendance pages. The best ones did more than provide numbers. They helped families make sense of them.

There's a moment in the college search when families go from imagining the possibilities to calculating what those possibilities might cost.

And where do they go? Your cost-of-attendance/tuition and fees page.

I recently reviewed more than 80 of these pages across colleges and universities of different sizes, types and missions.

Some were fantastic. Interactive, thoughtfully organized and genuinely helpful.

The rest? We're talking multiple tables, several clicks and occasionally a calculator just to figure out what a year of college might cost.

We're asking families to make one of the biggest financial decisions of their lives. Why are we making it so difficult to understand the numbers?

I know cost of attendance is complicated. Residency matters. Housing arrangements matter. Academic programs and enrollment status can change the estimate.

But families are generally looking for three things:

• What could a year at this college cost?

• What does that estimate actually include?

• What might change that number, and what should we do next?

Those are reasonable questions. The answers shouldn't require a crash course in how our institutions calculate college costs.

Here's where I think we're missing the mark.

The Cost-of-Attendance Page Problems That Keep Showing Up

❌ Problem 1: We're making families do the math.

Please. Can we stop doing this?

If a parent wants to know what it costs to attend your college for a year, why are we leading with:

• Tuition calculated per credit hour

• Mandatory fees listed by semester

• Housing and meal plans priced separately, sometimes on entirely different pages

Now families are figuring out how many credits their student might take, which fees apply and whether they need to multiply everything by two. I had to pull out a calculator for more pages than I could count.

But families didn't sign up for a math assignment.

Yes, per-credit-hour pricing matters, particularly for part-time and graduate students. Keep it available. But lead with an estimated annual total, then let families explore the details.

❌ Problem 2: We've organized the page around ourselves.

Some pages had an astonishing number of tables.

Undergraduate. Graduate. Resident. Nonresident. On-campus. Off-campus. Living with family. Multiple academic years. Sometimes all on the same page.

I understand why those categories exist. Financial aid calculations are complicated, and different students have different expenses.

But why are we asking families to find themselves in a sea of information?

Instead, what if we:

• Started with the audience we're trying to reach?

• Let visitors select their residency, living arrangements or enrollment status?

• Showed only the estimated costs relevant to their circumstances, with additional details available when needed?

  
  

The information doesn't become less accurate. It becomes easier to use. There's a difference between making information available and making it understandable.

❌ Problem 3: We're providing numbers without context.

"Miscellaneous expenses: $3,500."

OK. For what?

Is that money the college will charge my student? Is it an estimate for clothing, laundry and personal spending? Do we need to budget for all of it?

A family unfamiliar with college finances may not know the difference between direct and indirect costs.

And frankly, why should we expect them to?

A helpful cost-of-attendance page should make three things immediately clear:

• What the college bills: Tuition, required fees and applicable campus housing or meal charges.

• What students budget for separately: Transportation, books, personal expenses and other estimated indirect costs.

• What can change: Housing arrangements, academic programs, enrollment status and individual spending needs.

A brief explanation beside each expense can go a long way.

And please make it abundantly clear that cost of attendance is an estimate, not necessarily the amount on the university bill.

❌ Problem 4: We're missing an opportunity to communicate value.

This one particularly interests me as an enrollment marketer.

Families aren't just asking what college costs. They're trying to determine whether the investment makes sense.

I'm not suggesting we turn the page into another recruitment pitch. Please answer the price question first.

But why not provide thoughtful connections to career preparation, internships, credible graduate outcomes or the campus resources supported by tuition and fees?

We're constantly communicating the value of higher education in our recruitment messaging.

Yet on the very page where families are evaluating the investment, those connections are often missing.

Price tells families what college costs.

Value helps them understand what they're considering.

❌ Problem 5: We give families the sticker price and leave them there.

Imagine opening a page and seeing that attending a college could cost $60,000 a year.

That's a big number.

For some families, it may be enough to make them question whether that institution is even financially possible.

So what happens next? On some of the pages I reviewed, not much. In fact, on at a double-digit number of pages, that big total cost of attendance number was the last substantial thing on the page.

The net price calculator is buried. Scholarship information lives somewhere else. There's no clear invitation to explore what the family might actually pay.

This is such a missed opportunity!

Instead, help families:

• Estimate their net price. Make the calculator prominent and explain how it can help.

• Understand their options. Connect to scholarships, grants and financial planning resources.

• Talk to a real person. Provide an obvious way to reach someone who can explain the numbers.

And let's remember that scholarships and grants reduce the price students need to cover. Loans can help finance that cost, but they don't make college less expensive.

Your cost-of-attendance page shouldn't be where the financial conversation ends.

What Good Looks Like

I also want to give credit where it's due. Several institutions stood out during my review, and for different reasons.

👉 University of Wyoming: Personalize the experience.

One of my absolute favorites! Wyoming's interactive page lets visitors select their residency and living arrangements to see relevant estimated costs. It also explains individual expenses and connects families with financial aid resources.

👉 Ole Miss: Explain the numbers.

Another standout for interactivity and helpful explanations. Visitors can identify their student circumstances and explore what individual cost categories mean rather than being left to interpret everything themselves.

👉 Allen University: Make the price easy to find.

Proof that you don't need sophisticated technology to create clarity. Allen leads with a refreshingly simple message: "One bundled price. No surprises." Clear annual university charges, straightforward breakdowns and useful next steps.

👉 Missouri Valley University: Let the design do some of the work.

Excellent visual organization! Annual estimates are front and center, with clear breakdowns and connections to financial aid resources. The page is easy to scan without sacrificing important details.

👉 Washington State University: Help families actually use the information.

I especially appreciate WSU's budgeting worksheet. Rather than simply publishing expenses, it gives students and families a tool to start planning around their own financial circumstances.

Different institutions. Different approaches. And none is perfect.

The common thread? These pages were designed to help people, not just publish information.

Auditing Framework for Your Institution

Here's what I'd encourage every enrollment marketing, financial aid and web team to do.

Open your institution's cost-of-attendance page on your phone.

Now pretend you're a parent navigating college finances for the first time.

Ask yourself:

• Find it: Can I quickly locate an estimated annual cost for my student's circumstances?

• Understand it: Can I tell what's included and what the college will actually bill?

• Navigate it: Is the page easy to use without opening multiple tabs, deciphering footnotes or doing math?

• Evaluate it: Can I explore affordability and understand the value behind the investment?

• Act on it: Is there a clear next step, whether that's a net price calculator, budgeting resource or conversation with someone who can help?

And perhaps the most important question: Does this page leave me more confident about understanding college costs, or more confused than when I arrived?

The Bottom Line

After reviewing more than 80 cost-of-attendance pages, one thing became clear: We don't necessarily need more information. We need to make the information we're already providing easier to understand and use.

And this isn't about placing blame on financial aid offices. They're responsible for complicated calculations, changing regulations and making sure the numbers are accurate.

But this is exactly why enrollment marketing, financial aid and web teams should be working together to create a better experience.

We can't make college less expensive by redesigning a webpage. But we can make the cost easier to understand, give families meaningful context and help them take the next step with more confidence.

Families are already doing enough work figuring out how to pay for college. We shouldn't make figuring out what it costs another obstacle.

This is part of The Audit series, where I take a close look at the pages and touchpoints that shape how students and families experience your institution and what you can do about it. If you'd like a fresh set of eyes on your website or broader financial aid communications, let's talk.