In his State of the Union address on Feb. 12, President Barack Obama promised to make the cost of universities across the nation more transparent. That same night, the White House revealed the College Scorecard.

The website allows anyone to view the collective cost of attending colleges across the country, rather than the cost of tuition alone.

“The government has a good idea that is to try to simplify and come up with some standard way for people to compare intuitions’ cost,” said Dan Anderson, vice president of University Communications.  “The motivation is certainly a good one.”

The College Scorecard was started by the US Department of Education’s College Affordability and Transparency Center to make it easier for families to understand the true cost of colleges across the country.

“This website could have assisted me in matching my financial situation,” said sophomore Kaitlyn Osborne.  “I really wanted to go to Elon but if there was a school that I liked just as much and its tuition was cheaper, there would have been a large possibility that I would have one there instead.”

Junior Michelle Lewandowski said the website didn’t reveal anything new to her about Elon.

“It wouldn’t have made a major difference in my college decision making process,” she said. “After looking at the site, it basically tells me that Elon is an expensive university, something I was very aware of at the time of my application.”

The scorecard takes into account four different criteria in order to determine the net cost of attending a university: budget increases from 2007–2009, the six-year graduation rate, the loan default rate and loan payment rate.

“The one thing that is hard for families to do is figure out what it will actually cost them,” Anderson said.  “Usually schools won’t give you the financial aid package data until you make your decision.

According to the website, the Elon’s net cost is $28,208, $425 dollars less than the cost of tuition.  The website also shows the net cost of Duke University and Davidson College at $43,056 and $40,809, respectively. The numbers are lower than the institutions’ tuition rates.

“A net cost number is interesting from a statistical point of view but it means almost nothing to any given family,” Anderson said. “The financial aid calculator that a lot of schools use, including Elon, where they let you put in your own family’s finances, that’s more helpful to you.”

The Department of Education said in a statement that it is working on improvements for the website, including a tool that would show how many graduates’ receive jobs and how much money they make.

Despite the comparable net cost to Elon and other private schools within the area, Lewandowski said she has no regrets.

“The cost of Elon is worth the benefits because I have found my best friends, my passion, and my future career,” she said.