What's Coming Next for College Aid Index
College planning is opaque enough. Your tools shouldn't be. That's why we're publishing a living roadmap—so you can see what's available today, what we're building next, and how your feedback shapes our priorities.
Why Publish a Roadmap?
We're building this as a parent-run micro-SaaS, not a VC-funded platform promising everything to everyone. That means we can be honest about what exists, what's coming, and what depends on real families telling us what matters most.
The College Aid Index™ exists to disrupt information asymmetry. Families deserve to know what colleges actually cost and which ones deliver value—not just glossy marketing claims. That same transparency applies to how we build the product itself.
How the Roadmap Works: Now / Next / Later
We organize our roadmap into three phases:
- Now: What's live today and available to early customers.
- Next: What we're actively building as we gain traction and feedback.
- Later: Exploratory ideas—directions, not guarantees.
This structure lets us deliver value quickly without overpromising. We launch lean, prove it works, then expand based on what families find most useful.
What's Live Now
We've launched the core platform with three subscription tiers:
- Pathfinder ($12/mo): Access the full College Aid Index data table with manual PDF printing.
- Navigator ($69/yr): Best value annual plan with the College Spreadsheet Tracker and 1 custom PDF report (up to 50 colleges).
- Scholar ($149/yr): Premium plan with up to 5 custom PDF reports and priority support.
All plans include access to Value Score report and Generosity Score data for every school, with filters and sorting to find the best-value colleges for your budget.
Spotlight: What's Coming in "Next"
Based on feedback from early families, these features are rising to the top:
1. Advanced College Search & Filters
What families are asking for: "Can I filter by region, size, or program strength? Can I exclude certain types of schools?"
What's coming: Enhanced search and filtering tools to build custom college lists based on location, size, selectivity, program type, and more. Find schools that match your priorities before you start comparing costs.
2. Saved College Lists
What families are asking for: "What if I want to regenerate reports as new data comes out? What if my list changes?"
What's coming: Save your college lists and quickly regenerate PDF reports with updated federal data as it becomes available each year. No need to rebuild your list from scratch.
What Moves from "Later" to "Next"?
You do. If hundreds of families ask for saved profiles and report history, that moves up. If counselors need bulk reports for their entire caseload, we build counselor tools. If deeper year-over-year generosity trends would help you spot which colleges are getting stingier, that becomes a priority.
This is a feedback-driven roadmap, not a feature factory. We're solving real problems, not building for the sake of building.
See the Full Roadmap
Our Product Roadmap page lists every feature in Now / Next / Later format, with plain-language explanations of what each item does and why it matters.
Tell Us What Matters Most
We're not guessing what families need—we're asking. If there's a feature you'd use every week, or a pain point we haven't addressed, we want to hear it.
How to share feedback:
- Email us at [email protected]
- Visit our Help Center for FAQs and support
- Reply to any report delivery email with your thoughts
Every email gets read. Every suggestion gets logged. The families using this product in the earliest days are shaping what it becomes—and that's exactly how it should work.
Get Started Today
The core platform is live with three subscription tiers to fit every family's needs.
- ✓ Full access to the College Aid Index data table with Value and Generosity Scores
- ✓ College Spreadsheet Tracker to organize your applications (Navigator & Scholar)
- ✓ Custom PDF reports covering up to 50 colleges (1 with Navigator, up to 5 with Scholar)
- ✓ 90-day money-back guarantee on all plans
About College Aid Index™: We turn messy public financial aid data into two simple scores— Value Score (ROI) and Generosity Score (affordability)—so families can make informed college decisions. Built by a parent, not funded by colleges. Learn more about our mission.