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(Big Sky Connection) For Montanans preparing to start college this fall, an interactive online Tuition Tracker can help them figure out some of the costs ahead of time.

The tool can be especially useful to those attending college for the first time.

The Tuition Tracker lets a student calculate the real costs - by seeing not only the published tuition, but the cost of other needs, showing them what they might end up actually paying.

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Andrew Koricich, executive director of the Alliance for Research on Regional Colleges, said a tool like this can be helpful for students in rural areas.

"Whenever you have rural students," said Koricich, "many of whom are still going to be the first in their families to go to college, maybe coming from communities where there aren't a lot of folks with college experience - tools like the Tuition Tracker can be really important."

The tool also allows students to compare colleges costs by using their household income, seeing what students like them have paid in the past, and what to expect if they decide to enroll.

It was developed by the online education publication The Hechinger Report.

The latest Tuition Tracker update also shows historical data, such as student retention and graduation rates.

But Koricich said no matter how accurate the data, there many factors that can affect the actual price of college - and it could sometimes be lower than what the tracker reflects.

"It is a very complicated thing that includes a lot of variables," said Koricich, "and so you can have state grant programs that may not be reflected in the net price, even though any in-state student attending that institution will receive that grant."

Koricich recommended doing additional research, including visiting the website of each school the student is interested in to find out more.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.