The federal government has released an interactive scorecard for higher education that allows consumers to compare and contrast colleges in ways never before possible.
For example, Vermont Schools are shown here. And some of the data may be surprising. That’s because the government doesn’t compare tuition per se; it looks at the average cost of attending each school.
For example, the average cost of the University of Vermont, factoring in available scholarships, is shown as just under $15,000. The average cost of attending Castleton State College (recently renamed Castleton University) is shown as higher – over $16,000 – most likely because Castleton does not hand out as many scholarships as UVM.
But of course, if a student does not receive financial aid, these numbers may seem a little off the mark.
Similarly, colleges are contrasted in terms of how much money their graduates make. By that rubric, Middlebury wins, with an average post-grad salary topping $53,000. Near the bottom of that list are Vermont’s Community Colleges, which also have among the lowest graduation rates.
The sheer mountain of data feeding these color coded charts is staggering.
Critics say they do not offer a realistic shopping guide, because not everyone can get into all these schools. And the data about salaries after graduation is collected only from students who got federal assistance. Still, in his weekly radio address President Obama said the new report card will help families “select a college that fits their goals.”
