Edmit offers smart personal advice for you on how to make the college decision.
The team behind making paying for college achievable for everyone.
The Edstimate® is Edmit’s best estimate of the price you’ll pay for a college.
Make your plan on how best to save.
Knowledge on college pricing and financial aid.
Build your list with great financial fit schools.
Pick the long-term, financially successful college.
Edmit uses data reported by colleges to the federal government and in surveys to understand how generous colleges are with financial aid. Financial aid can be based on your ‘need’ (based on your financial situation and ability to pay) or “merit-based” (based on your academic or other strengths.)
This estimate looks at your financial need and your academic performance and compares those with what we know about the college’s financial aid.
We use data that colleges report about scholarships and pricing in past years for families that don't qualify for need-based aid.
Edmit has thousands of data points on what other students actually paid for college. We look at students that are similar to you and what financial aid they received.
We look at historical data and policies on how colleges have awarded financial need-based aid.
Yes, you might see your Edstimate® change. Our team is working every day to make our data more accurate by incorporating new information we receive from partners, colleges and students. If you have questions about a change in your numbers, you can always reach out to us for an explanation!
The amount shown represents the estimated full cost - to you - of attending the college for one year. This includes tuition, fees, room & board, books & supplies, and other expenses such as travel or personal expenses (the “cost of attendance”, or “published cost”), minus the scholarship and grant money we estimate you’ll receive.
The Edstimate® includes only "free money" from the college in the form of grants and scholarships (need and merit based).
The Edstimate® does not assume any loans. Think of the Edstimate® as your price for a college. You'd have to cover this cost using your cash (from savings, income, gifts, etc.) and/or by taking student loans.
Edmit’s Financial Grades measure two things:
If the answer to both questions is “yes,” the college receives an “A.”
If the answer to only one of those question is “yes,” the college receives a “B.”
If the answer to both questions is “no,” the college receives a “C.”
In Edmit, we say a college is "affordable" for you if you could comfortably make the loan payments after graduation. We use the following rule of thumb: your total student loans should not be greater than your salary in the first year after graduation.
In your Edmit account, you will be able to provide information on your savings and how much you'll contribute annually to college from other income sources.
Since we know the cost of the college (either the Edstimate® or your actual cost), we can then calculate your expected loan amount. We compare it with our earnings estimates (taking your major into account) to determine whether the college is "affordable." If not, we'll tell you "it's a stretch."
Our earnings estimates combines government data, survey data, college data, and research on how different majors impact long-term career outcomes (for example, Doug Webber's analysis). See below for the key data sources used in Edmit.
We then compare a college's earnings to the earnings of similar colleges.
We use a lot of different sources of data, including:
Our Edstimates® are based on statistical models, and sometimes limited data, so they aren't perfect! The amount of data we have for the college affects the accuracy of our Edstimates.
As a company dedicated to transparency, we are constantly working to identify flaws and improve our data -- and we want your help. If you see an issue, you can report it when logged in to your account (or chat with us here on this page).
Read about the methodology and data behind our latest college financial health analysis here.
Our full privacy policy is available at: https://www.edmit.me/privacy
Edmit uses industry-standard security practices, like SSL/TLS encryption and a tightly-secured, multi-tier private cloud network, to store and display your data.
We strive in everything we do to keep your information safe. We don’t share your data without your permission. All communications done through Edmit are controlled by you.
Our team monitors our infrastructure and applications regularly, performs third-party security audits, and implements security best practices.
Our relationships with researchers and experts inform our work and ensure the information you receive on Edmit is reliable, credible, and always improving. The Data Integrity Council ensures we are informed by the latest and best research, and gives input on our data sources and the algorithm we use to provide estimates.
Reis Hagerman is currently working with the the State of Maine’s Finance Authority on tools to help students with financial planning for college. Throughout his career he has worked on many aspects of higher education enrollment, marketing, and sales, including leadership positions with the American Student Assistance, as Vice President for Enrollment at Saint Joseph’s College, and in the CollegeBoard’s Higher Education Division. He also helped found Think Ahead Inc., one of the first college net price calculators.
Robert is Assistant Professor of Higher Education in the Department of Education Leadership Management and Policy at Seton Hall University. His research focuses on higher education finance and accountability policies, including areas such as student financial aid, college rankings, and program evaluation. He is frequently quoted in the media, including The Washington Post, National Public Radio, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Inside Higher Ed, and Politico, and he was recently selected as one of the 15 most indispensable academics on Twitter by The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Amanda Janice Roberson is a senior research analyst at the Institute for Higher Education Policy (IHEP), where she is a member of the policy research team. Her research interests include using data to inform policy and practice; college access, affordability and success; and federal higher education policy. Much of her work at IHEP centers on postsecondary data, metrics, and infrastructure, including contributions to the Postsecondary Metrics Framework and A Blueprint for Better Information: Recommendations for a Student-Level Data Network.
In addition to his work at Edmit, Walter is an adjunct lecturer in the Enterprise Artificial Intelligence program at Northeastern University, where he teaches Data Visualization and Communication. Previously, he worked in intellectual property consulting at IP Capital Group, and was a Research Associate at the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University. Walter received his B.S. (Economics) and M.A. (Data Science) from Northeastern University.
Teri is currently the Program Director for the Data Analytics programs at Level Education at Northeastern University. In this role, she develops curriculum for new and existing programs, trains instructors and works with students. Teri is also a part-time lecturer in the Supply Chain Management Program at MIT. Previously, she worked at an aerospace startup where she designed and implemented control systems and developed localization and tracking algorithms for antenna arrays. Teri received her B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. from MIT in Mechanical Engineering. Her research involved developing computational models to evaluate the design of new urban areas.
Doug is an Associate Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in the Economics Department at Temple University and a Research Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA). He studies labor economics and the economics of higher education and has published on a wide variety of topics in the fields of labor economics and the economics of higher education, including: earnings inequality, expenditures in higher education, the gender pay gap, the economic returns to college major, and student loan debt. He has testified in front of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on the topic of student loan policy and higher education finance.
DISCLAIMERS
A covered educational institution's name or logo on the Edmit platform is not an endorsement by the covered educational institution of SoFi's student loan products. Student loan products offered by "SoFi" are made by SoFi Lending Corp. (CFL# 6054612, NMLS# 1121636) and not by any covered educational institution displayed on the Edmit platform.
Edmit may receive compensation from SoFi on a per-funded loan basis. SoFi does not guarantee the accuracy of information provided by Edmit, its affiliates or subsidiaries. Enrollment in Edmit does not guarantee eligibility for a SoFi loan product. Terms and conditions apply, and are subject to change.