How does a college’s revenue go up during your sophomore, junior and senior years? Listen to this podcast to find out!

Mark Salisbury, Co-Founder of TuitionFit, joins us on the podcast to talk about the state of the college marketplace, the shortcomings of college ROI calculators, and his thoughts on how students should approach to thinking about choosing a college.

Details:

• 0:00~1:12 Introduction
• 1:12~5:07 The state of the college marketplace
• 5:07~9:21 Experience working in higher education
• 9:21~15:09 Motivation to start TuitionFit
• 15:09~20:14 The college business model
• 20:14~23:32 School is not on sale
• 23:32~26:03 Why are people scared of negotiating
• 26:03~32:25 Shortcomings of ROI calculations
• 32:25~34:57 Standardizing aid letters
• 34:57~44:06 Tips for reading financial aid letters
• 44:06~46:46 Approach to thinking about college
• 46:46~48:26 What the three-part series will be about
• 48:26~49:25 Conclusion

Resources:

• TuitionFit
• Sign up for Mark’s 3-Part Series re: College Affordability on the Virtual PD Page

Quotes:

• “I was in the room when meetings were being had on how do we shape the language in the financial aid letters so that it doesn't really say how bad it really is... But it certainly helps to know what's really going on behind the curtain, to then be able to try and help people understand it better.”

About the Authors

Tim Ranzetta

Tim's saving habits started at seven when a neighbor with a broken hip gave him a dog walking job. Her recovery, which took almost a year, resulted in Tim getting to know the bank tellers quite well (and accumulating a savings account balance of over $300!). His recent entrepreneurial adventures have included driving a shredding truck, analyzing executive compensation packages for Fortune 500 companies and helping families make better college financing decisions. After volunteering in 2010 to create and teach a personal finance program at Eastside College Prep in East Palo Alto, Tim saw firsthand the impact of an engaging and activity-based curriculum, which inspired him to start a new non-profit, Next Gen Personal Finance.

Ren Makino

Ren started interning at NGPF in 2014, and worked part-time through high school and college. With his knowledge growing alongside NGPF, he joined the team to work full-time after graduating from college in 2020. He is also the producer of the NGPF podcast. During his free time, he likes to try out coffees from different roasters across the world.