Has sticker shock got you wondering how you’re going to pay for college? Check out these eight helpful tips:
1. Nobody pays the sticker price
When comparing colleges, it’s important to look deeper than the published tuition prices. Most colleges offer discounts, institutional aid and, often, access to outside aid. That can amount to more than half the amount of the published tuition price.
There are merit scholarships, athletics scholarships, minority scholarships, community-service scholarships and more. In some cases, a college with a higher published tuition price can actually be less expensive than one with a lower published tuition
price, because of the amount of aid available. In fact, in fall 2020, Bellarmine introduced the Public Price Promise,
a merit scholarship that guarantees qualifying students won't pay more than the overall cost of their home state's flagship university.
2. Get a ballpark price with the Net Price Calculator
So, how are you supposed to compare? It’s a lot easier than it used to be, thanks to the Net Price Calculator. The federal government requires that all colleges receiving federal funds for student aid post a Net Price Calculator on their websites.
(Some colleges aren’t proud of their financial aid awards and so they bury it, but you can find it by googling “[college name] net price calculator.”) It’s a handy tool that lets you get a good estimate of what you’ll
pay at that school. It takes about 10-15 minutes to complete but gives you a solid ballpark estimate of your costs. And after you’ve done it once, it’s easier to do it for other schools.
Find out your costs now.
3. Everybody should complete a FAFSA
The Free Application For Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA, is the government form every school uses to determine not just the amount of government help you might be eligible for, but also the amount of institutional help you qualify for. When you complete
your FAFSA, the colleges you apply to can use that info to make your overall award, which can add up to substantial money. Even if you think your parents make too much money to qualify, you should still file a FAFSA. You might not be eligible for
federal aid, but you might be surprised at the amount of institutional discounting that’s available.
File your FAFSA now.
4. The FAFSA doesn’t have to hurt (much)
OK, it’s a government form and it asks for tax and other financial info so it is going to hurt a little. But the FAFSA has gotten friendlier in recent years. The form now allows you to use prior year tax info and file earlier — and you know
what they say about the early bird getting the sweet financial aid award. So, gather up your personal financial info and visit fafsa.gov to complete your form. It won’t be too painful and the payoff could be big.
5. Institutional Aid: The Discount
Most colleges offer institutional aid in a variety of formats. The amount of institutional aid you qualify for depends on a lot of factors, such as your GPA, ACT, SAT and more. You almost certainly qualify for some institutional aid. In insider parlance,
institutional aid is known as “the discount” because that’s what it is: a discount from the published tuition price.
6. Get some help from your Uncle
Uncle Sam wants you to be well educated because an educated populace is critical to our nation’s future. Accordingly, the federal government and state governments offer grants, scholarships and work-study programs based on need. There are a lot
of possible sources of government help and it can be somewhat confusing to understand them all. The good news is that all you need to do is complete your FAFSA and talk with a financial aid counselor to quickly learn what you are eligible for and
how much it can bring your costs down.
Learn more about affordability.
7. Debt is a four-letter word
Except when it isn’t. There has been a lot of criticism in recent years about rising student debt and there’s some reason for concern. Too much debt can really cut into your lifestyle after college. But there is overwhelming evidence that
college graduates — even ones with substantial debt — come out ahead over the long run compared to those who don’t go to college. How much ahead? About a million bucks over a lifetime. Debt is only a problem if you incur too much
of it and you don’t have the income-earning potential to pay it off later. But that is exactly what college gives you! There are federal loans, private loans, home equity loans and more. How do you find out what’s available? File your
FAFSA.
8. Ask for help
If you find college financing confusing, you’re not alone. Because of the complexity and importance of financial aid, good colleges (and that’s what you want, right?) have helpful people on staff to answer your questions. Write down your questions
and make an appointment with financial aid staff and they will patiently explain anything you don’t understand. At Bellarmine University, we’ll explain it to you even if you don’t plan to attend Bellarmine! Just ask!
Just ask our financial aid experts!