Brandeis University takes bold step to demystify college costs

Brandeis University has announced a significant change in the information students and families have about the cost of attending the prestigious university, according to a recent New York Times article. 

In his May 10 article, “With Just One Word, Brandeis Is Trying to Change College Shopping,” New York Times personal finance columnist Ron Lieber reported that the Waltham-based university has introduced a new financial aid tool called Faye that asks questions, analyzes personal financial data and then states “what your Brandeis cost will be” before a student applies. 

It’s the word “will” that could be game changing, Lieber said, because most current financial aid calculators provided by colleges give estimates that can be way off – and for much more than the actual offer upon admission. The frequent result is sticker shock.

Although Faye does not offer a guarantee, and complications can crop up, that one word suggests a good-faith effort on the part of Brandeis to tell students their actual cost to attend Brandeis. That level of transparency is desperately needed in college admission, according to Lieber, who has written extensively about financial aid.

“I don’t know of any schools that do what Brandeis is trying,” Lieber said. “It may not work, and it may backfire in a couple of different ways. But the fact that the school is even trying it is a kind of victory for anyone who has ever wailed in agony over the complexity of college pricing and the futility of trying to figure it out.”

An article on the Brandeis website noted that as students provide more detail about their family financial situation, Faye’s calculation becomes more precise, “moving from a broad estimate to a clear, individualized figure.”

University officials hope that providing a cost upfront will deter students from assuming that the sticker price makes Brandeis unaffordable. A recent study by the Brookings Institution found that only about 12 to 16 percent of students at private colleges pay the full published price.

“Today, one of the greatest barriers is family income,” said Brandeis President Arthur Levine. “Faye is about showing that a top-tier university can be accessible to far more students than they may think.”

Faye is currently in beta testing with a full rollout planned for Aug. 1, according to the university.