Why one number cannot work
Financial aid in the United States is mostly need-based. Two students at the same college, studying the same subject in the same year, can pay wildly different amounts depending on their family income. Averaging them produces a number that describes neither of them.
The Department of Education solves this by publishing average net price separately for five family income bands. Each college page on this site shows the bands the college reports.
The five bands
| Band | Family income |
|---|---|
| 1 | $0 – $30,000 |
| 2 | $30,001 – $48,000 |
| 3 | $48,001 – $75,000 |
| 4 | $75,001 – $110,000 |
| 5 | $110,001 and above |
The bands are reported separately for public and private institutions, and the two are not comparable with each other — a private college’s band figures include its own discounting policy, which works differently from a public institution’s state subsidy.
What the pattern tells you
- A steep curve — much cheaper at the bottom than the top — usually means the college is directing its aid at low-income students. That is the common case at well-endowed private colleges.
- A flat curve means the college discounts roughly the same amount for everyone. The published price is closer to what most people actually pay.
- A missing band means too few students in that band reported. It does not mean the college charges nothing, or everything.
- A band figure far above the published tuition is a sign that room, board and living costs dominate the bill.
How to use the bands
Find the band closest to your family’s income. That figure is a much better estimate of your starting point than the overall average. Then look at the college’s net price calculator — every institution that receives federal aid is required to publish one — which asks for your actual circumstances and produces a personalised estimate.
The band figures are historical. They cover a specific award year, shown on the page. Prices and aid policies change annually, so use them to decide which colleges are worth applying to, not to predict the bill.