Comparison Shopping for College Giving Students the Tools They
Need to Make Better Choices SOURCE: AP/Robert F. Bukaty When was
the last time you bought a plane ticket by calling one airline
without checking the others? What about buying a car—did you
just walk into a dealership and choose one at random, or did you
shop around? Most people engage in comparison shopping before
making a major purchase. Websites like Kayak.com, Priceline.com,
and Bankrate.com all owe their success to the fact that
consumers compare quality and prices to get the most for their
money, especially when money is tight. A college education
should be no different. It’s one of the largest purchases a
family will ever make. And since the federal government
subsidizes many of those purchases through grants and loans
everyone has an interest in making sure that students get a good
deal. That’s why Congress should require that financial aid
offers are comparable across colleges so that families are
equipped with full information about the c