OneGoal Announces Acquisition of Cutting-Edge College Affordability Tool, DecidED
Postsecondary support organization will increase effectiveness and service offerings with the addition of a free online college fit comparison tool
CHICAGO (September 05, 2024)—OneGoal, a leading postsecondary access and success organization working with students, schools, and districts to transform postsecondary advising and support, announces its acquisition of DecidED, an online college cost comparison tool, developed and brought to market by the national nonprofit, Moneythink.
“DecidED is an easy-to-use online financial literacy tool that provides students, families, advisors and partner organizations with an efficient way to understand and compare college costs, financial aid benefits, and other fit factors,” said OneGoal CEO Melissa Connelly. “Our research tells us that 71% of OneGoal students who stop out of their postsecondary path list ‘financial reasons’ for not continuing their postsecondary plans. We’re excited to see OneGoal students, their families, and the public take advantage of this free tool to help prevent these stopouts.”
“Despite the incredible, early traction we’ve seen among students, advisors, and partnering organizations using DecidED for the last several years, it became evident to me and our leadership that our product deserved a larger, more established, mission-aligned organization to truly bring our vision to life. OneGoal emerged as the ideal partner, offering a strong, reputable brand and extensive direct provider networks across schools, districts, and states, as well as having an increasing hand in systems change work,” said Moneythink’s CEO, Joshua Lachs. “I’m so thrilled to see this game-changing partnership come together, fueled by Melissa’s forward-thinking leadership and OneGoal’s commitment to leverage accessible, practical, and equity-focused college affordability tools and data to help create an informed education marketplace of consumers.”
With DecidED, students can search schools and compare them for fit factors such as cost, location, graduation rates, campus diversity and more. Once students begin to receive financial aid award letters from schools to which they’ve been accepted, these letters can be uploaded to DecidED. The tool will then provide a breakdown of free financial aid alongside individual college costs so students can easily compare how much money would be needed to attend each school of interest, quickly and accurately helping them understand the affordability of their college options.
By suggesting ways to pay for college, such as scholarships, work-study and loans, to offering assistance with planning and budgeting for comprehensive college expenses, DecidED can help students and families explore, compare and choose the best college option that aligns with their goals. Additionally, advisors and administrators can use DecidED to track and support multiple students’ progress on their college journeys. The tool shows a real-time snapshot of schools students are interested in, what types of awards they’ve received and how affordable their options are. Advisors can also download reports complete with college costs and fit factor data, financial aid results and student preferences.
“DecidED makes understanding true college costs simple so that students can easily gauge what their out-of-pocket costs will be,” Connelly said. “Adding DecidED to OneGoal’s suite of supports helps us provide clear and factual information, which empowers students to enroll at affordable schools where they have the greatest chance of graduating with the least amount of debt.”
To access DecidED, visit decided.org.
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About OneGoal
OneGoal transforms postsecondary advising and support so that every student can define their own future. Striving to build a movement to close the opportunity gap, OneGoal works side by side with partner schools and districts to build their knowledge and capacity. The result is more equitable and effective support for all students. OneGoal’s unique approach, honed over 15 years, prioritizes strong human relationships—and it has proven to deliver real student impact. Of OneGoal high school graduates, 81% enroll in a postsecondary institution, and 73% of those who enroll persist one year after high school. An independent study by the University of Chicago found that OneGoal students are about 40% more likely to earn postsecondary degrees than students from similar backgrounds.