Lunch-Money.com Lets Students Take Control of the Financial Aid and College Admissions Process

October 17, 2004

Students no longer have to rely on the rankings of U.S. News & World Report when choosing a college. Lunch-Money.com (www.lunch-money.com) has launched a new tool that puts students in the driver's seat. The website's interactive College Scorecard allows students to decide what criteria are important to them and to rank schools using these criteria.

"When students are choosing a college, what matters is not what college is best, but what college is best for that particular student," said Mark Rothbaum, Lunch-Money.com's President. "Our College Scorecard lets students create their own customized college rankings, taking into account what they are looking for in a school."

Also new is Lunch-Money.com's Insider's Guide to Selecting a College, which helps students understand the advantages of different types of schools. Experienced college admissions officers and students share their views on schools ranging from small to large, urban to rural, liberal arts to religiously-focused, all-women's to historically black.

In addition to the Insider's Guide to Selecting a College and the College Scorecard, Lunch-Money.com has added several interactive calculators for students to take advantage of, including:

An Expected Family Contribution (EFC) Calculator - Students can get a ballpark estimate of their expected family contribution, an important factor in determining federal and some state financial aid

A Financial Aid Award Evaluator - This tool enables users to compare financial aid award letters from schools side-by-side. Students can learn about the "real" price tag of college.

A GPA Calculator - Students can use this calculator to run through various scenarios and find out the impact of classes and grades on their grade point average.

All of these articles and calculators are part of an initiative by Lunch-Money.com to provide students with the resources to make informed decisions about college.

"The college admission and financial aid process can seem daunting for students," said Rothbaum. "Our content and tools are designed to clearly lay out their available options and to customize the results based on their unique circumstances and preferences. As a result, we hope we give students greater control over and better knowledge of the whole process."

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