Colleges offer calculators to find true cost

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. — Indiana State University is the latest state college promoting an online calculator to help prospective students determine the real cost of attending the school.

Colleges around the country are adding online net price calculators because the federal government is requiring them by Oct. 29 for schools that get federal student aid funds. The calculators are more accurate than the "sticker price" of college because they factor in merit and need-based financial aid after users provide academic and financial information.

Indiana State says its calculator also projects monthly student loan payments after graduation.

Indiana also has a general college costs estimator that allows students and their parents to see side-by-side comparisons of the costs of attending various Indiana schools.