For Spanish-Speaking Parents of College Hopefuls, Wellesley College Releases a New Tool to Forecast College Costs, en Español

November 19, 2013

For Spanish-Speaking Parents of College Hopefuls, Wellesley College Releases a New Tool to Forecast College Costs, en Español

Wellesley is the first liberal arts college to offer Spanish-language estimates of what parents can expect to pay, taking into account financial aid

WELLESLEY, Mass. – Wellesley College has released a new, Spanish-language version of its groundbreaking college cost estimator. My inTuition: Wellesley’s Quick College Cost Estimator asks just six basic financial questions before providing a personalized estimate of an individual’s college costs at Wellesley. The tool is free and now available en Español online at www.wellesley.edu/estimadordecostos. My inTuition is also available in English at www.wellesley.edu/costestimator.

While Latino students are going to college in record numbers, Wellesley is among the first selective, private colleges in the U.S. to forecast the cost of attendance incorporating financial aid. It is the only school in this category to provide simplified forecasts in either Spanish or English. 

According to Jennifer Desjarlais, Wellesley’s Dean of Admission and Financial Aid, providing a Spanish-language version of the estimator represents the College’s latest effort in its long-standing commitment to access—and to giving prospective students a quick and realistic range of their personalized college costs. “We are taking an important step in continuing to expand access by providing more information to families, and that work continues,” she said.

Since Wellesley first released the cost estimator in September, more than 15,000 people have used the tool. Wellesley economics professor Phillip B. Levine, who invented My inTuition, hopes that by offering the Spanish-language version, even more people will be able to benefit from the clarity provided by the tool. “Many elite colleges like Wellesley are committed to educating smart, talented students, regardless of their ability to pay. Our cost estimator spells out loud and clear: ‘If your daughter is right for Wellesley, we might be your most affordable option.’”

My inTuition was translated into Spanish by Camila Diaz ‘15, currently a junior majoring in economics at Wellesley. Diaz, who hails from the Bronx, New York and is attending Wellesley on full scholarship, believes that the tool will be useful to future college hopefuls and their families.  

“It is incredibly easy to use, and it asks for information that our parents usually have on hand, so they don't have to dig up tax returns just to have an estimate of what it would cost to come to Wellesley.” Diaz added, “I know that this would have been incredibly helpful when my friends and I were applying to college, especially to try to convince our parents to not just look at the +$50,000 price tags, but to focus more on each of the schools we were looking at and what they had to offer.” 

About Wellesley College
Since 1875, Wellesley College has been the preeminent liberal arts college for women. Known for its intellectual rigor and its remarkable track record for the cultivation of women leaders in every arena, Wellesley—only 12 miles from Boston—is home to some 2300 undergraduates from every state and 75 countries.

PRESS CONTACTS:

Sofiya Cabalquinto, Wellesley College, 781-283-3321, scabalqu@wellesley.edu
Anne Yu, Wellesley College, 781-283-3201, ayu@wellesley.edu

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