a) Discounts--Until relatively recently, discounts weren't discussed much publicly by colleges. However, discounts were discussed in articles and presentations intended for college admissions and financial-aid personnel. Simply put, a discount is a reduction in the costs--usually, tuition and fees--a student will be charged by a college or university. Consider an automobile analogy: the old adage was "Never pay the sticker price for a new car." Well, with many schools, particularly small, private colleges, the same holds true today. The college may reduce its costs to enroll your student--depending on how desirable a prospective student the school considers them. To read Kim Clark's article "Private Colleges Adopt Car Lot Strategy," posted online at U.S. News & World Report on 9/15/10, click this link:
http://www.usnews.com/articles/education/paying-for-college/2010/09/15/private-collegesadopt-car-lot-strategy.html
Why is discounting done? So colleges can enroll the most able students it can. Of course, the most selective universities don't have to discount their tuition and fees because they have more highly-qualified applicants than they can admit already--many of whom are willing to pay "full fare." But lessselective and less well-endowed schools, in competition with other colleges like themselves, use discounting to enroll the students they covet most. Each college has its own "look-fors" when considering applicants, but most want those with high GPAs in a rigorous high school curriculum as well as high ACT or SAT scores. Some seek high school valedictorians or National Merit Scholars. And for these top students, colleges may be willing to discount their costs significantly. Why don't schools just reduce tuition "up front," by simply cutting their "sticker price"? Because then applicants who lack high GPAs and test scores but who desire to enroll--and can pay "full fare"--may be admitted to enhance revenue. Sound like a business? Maybe that's why many colleges now call their "Office of Admissions" by the more modern--and, perhaps, more accurate--label of "Enrollment Management." b) Grants--Grants are reductions in college costs based on the financial need of an applicant--as indicated by their Expected Family Contribution (EFC), derived from their parents' responses on the FAFSA. The best grants are the Federal Pell and state grants based on an applicant's EFC. The lower a student's EFC, the higher their grant can be. In 2009, the maximum Pell Grant awarded was $5,350 per year to a student whose EFC was less than $100. To use the Ohio College Opportunity Grant (OCOG) as an example of a state grant, its maximum in 2009 was approximately $1,008 per year. When you add these two grants together (= $6,358), a student could finance much of his or her 205