By Amanda Miller
Author of Paying for College in Four Steps
“Finding money to help pay for college is hard.”
Not really. In my 10 years of helping folks navigate the financial aid process, I’ve determined that there are really only 4 things to know:
Scholarships: the 3 types and how to win them
Grants (aka the other type of free money): the 3 types, who gets them and how
State Aid: what programs the state you live in has (scholarship, grant or “discount”)
Financial Fit: which colleges make themselves affordable to which kinds of students
“That still seems like a lot.”
Yeah. But it’s not too bad when you break it down. And I love breaking it down.
That’s why I created this Crash Course. It’s the most straightforward and condensed paying-for-college resource anyone’s ever made.
(Feel free to let me know if you find a better one. I’m open to a little competition.)
“But Amanda. Whole books have been written about paying for college. Surely there’s more to it than what’s in this one blog post.”
You’re right. *Gold Star*
As my colleagues who’ve written those amazing books will be quick to point out, financial aid can be way more complicated than I’m about to describe and getting “into the weeds” with how, for example, IRA rollovers impact aid eligibility in the federal methodology isn’t something most folks find nearly as fun as I do. (If that last sentence made no sense, don’t sweat it. You won’t see another one like it.) 😉
This guide is more of a CliffNotes/No-Fear-Shakespeare approach: give you the highlights in clear-cut language so you…
- know where to start,
- have the basic idea about how financial aid actually works, and
- have the vocabulary and tools to get the answers you need.
Two final notes before we kick-off:
Feel free to skip around. However, I’d strongly encourage you to check out each section at least once. If there’s one thing I’ve learned as a financial aid adviser, it’s that money is often hiding in the place you didn’t think to look.
If you’re an international student, be sure to check out this in-depth guide we created just for you.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
(click to skip ahead)Let’s start with grant aid because, for some of you, it’s the only money you’ll need to completely pay for college. (It was for me.)
Crash Course to Understanding Grants
Grants are free money you get because you need it. (Hence why it’s also known as “need-based aid.”)
Crash Course Busted Myth #1: Only “poor families” get grants.
Nope. Check out the new Pell grant eligibility chart I made here. Many folks making over $100,000 are eligible starting in 2024-2025. #Inflation #ExpandedPell
Key Takeaway: Unless your family is capable of paying full price for all 4 years (or 5+ if you’re the average American college student) without depleting all savings or going into significant debt, you’re likely eligible for a grant.
There are three levels of grants:
Federal (typically for families making at or below the median family income)
Institutional (ones the colleges give out to students they accept)
For most students, all three levels are dependent on one form: the FAFSA.
It takes about an hour to complete. (My record is 12 minutes.) And starting in 2024, it’ll be easier than ever to fill out. (Big fan of the skip-logic and autofill features.)
Important to Know:
- FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It’s a free online form.
- You fill it out every year that you need aid. (Usually in October.)
- States and colleges have different “priority deadlines” that range from October through April. If you miss the priority deadline, you may miss out on thousands of dollars of free money. Whomp whomp. 🙁
There are so many resources and videos to help you complete the FAFSA form.
Here are the highlights:
Both you and your FAFSA parent(s) need to create an FSA ID at least a week before you plan to fill the FAFSA form out. (You and your parent–probably only one–each need your own.)
Not sure who your “FAFSA parent” is? No worries. Here’s a handy flow chart.
When you sit down to fill out the form, you’ll need:
Your parent’s SSN, birthday and email address so you can “invite” them to fill out their part of the form. (If your parent doesn’t have a SSN, no problem. They can still create an FSA ID and your federal aid only depends on you having one or being an eligible non-citizen.)
Your/your parents’ total amounts in cash, savings, checking
Net worth of your/your parents’ investments (not retirement or the house you live in) and business/farm value. (Pro tip: 529s are parent assets.)
Amount your parent received in child support, if applicable
Your tax return from 2 years ago (e.g. 2024-2025 FAFSA uses 2022 taxes). You hopefully won’t need to reference it, but it’s good to have on hand just in case.
Good luck filling it out. If you need more help, check here.
“Do I really have to fill it out?”
Technically, no. But if you want folks to give you money for college, you likely want to.
Let’s check out what you could get before you decide.
Federal Grants
There are three types of federal grants you should know about: Pell, SEOG and TEACH.
Pell grants are awarded to millions of students every year and range (as of 2023) from $750 to $7,400 and tend to go up every year. Here’s a very, very simple chart that shows if you qualify for this grant.
SEOGs (Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants) are for super high need folks which can be an extra grand or two.
If FAFSA says your SAI (Student Aid Index)—which is how much a college thinks you can afford for college—is -1500 to 0, it’s possible you’ll get this kind of grant on top of your Pell grant.
TEACH Grants are for aspiring teachers to have an extra $4,000/year. However, if you don’t become teachers/teach in certain subjects/in certain geographic areas upon graduation, these grants transform into loans. Grant→Loan=Groan.
State Grants
Some states give grants to students who live in their state. Some have their own forms (*cough*Texas*cough*) to figure out who should get money and how much, but most use the FAFSA.
To figure out what your state offers, use this handy map that will take you right where you need to be. (Or if you prefer a summary blog post, my friend Jim Houser might have the highlights you need here.)
“Is it hard to get a state grant?”
Nope. Just fill out the FAFSA/state form. It’s automatic.
“No, I mean, do a lot of people get them?”
Ah. It depends on your state, but most of the time students who qualify for a Pell grant should get a state grant to stack on top of it and folks who just miss getting a Pell grant could still qualify for a few thousand dollars. Again, it really depends.
Good news: You know who likely knows all about how things work in your state?
Your school counselor.
Hit them up if you can. If not, I bet you $10 that someone is sitting in your state’s higher education office (the website you clicked to from the map above) who would, for real, love to answer all your questions about your state’s aid programs if you call/email them. 😉
“Last question: do I have to go to a college in my state to get these grants?”
Most of the time yes, but there are exceptions: Pennsylvania, for one.
Institutional Grants
Finally, it’s time to talk about the formula colleges use to award aid. (It’s super-duper important.)
Cost of Attendance (COA)
– Student Aid Index (SAI)
– Federal Aid
– State Aid
– Scholarships
= Student Need/Grant Eligibility
Let’s break this down.
Cost of Attendance (COA) = the cost of attending a specific college for one year (tuition + fees + housing + food + books + supplies + transportation + personal expenses).
Student Aid Index (SAI) = the number the FAFSA spits out after you put all your data into it that tells colleges how much your family could theoretically afford to pay for college
Federal Aid = The $5,500 student loan every student gets from filling out the FAFSA + any federal grants
State Aid = any state grants or scholarships
Scholarships = ummm… scholarships.
Let’s do an example to make this clear:
ABC University’s COA is $80,000. (It’s pretty nice.)
Susie’s SAI is $15,500.
She filled out the FAFSA and just got the $5,500 loan.
ABC University is a private, out-of-state college for Susie, so no state aid.
Susie got a $1,000 scholarship from her local Rotary Club.
Here’s her need calculation:
$80,000 (COA)
– $15,500 (SAI)
– $5,500 (Federal Loan)
– $1,000 (Rotary)
= $58,000
This means Susie could receive up to $58,000 from ABC University in grant aid.
Now, will she definitely get $58,000 in grants from the college? At most places, no. But she could get most of that. (This practice is what we in the biz call “gapping.” It’s not ideal, but meeting “full need” is a luxury that relatively few colleges can afford. Fully staffed career centers and mental health clinics are expensive, y’all.)
Key Takeaway (Restated): This is why it’s a good idea for most folks to fill out the FAFSA even if they won’t qualify for a Pell grant. Because oftentimes state and institutional aid depend on FAFSA completion.
Awesome news: There are almost a hundred colleges where Susie would be guaranteed that all $58,000 of her financial need would be met. (A couple dozen of them won’t even include loans in the package. Super sweet deal.)
Two things:
These colleges are typically quite tough to get into.
They usually require a secondary—much more in-depth—financial aid form called the CSS Profile for access to their institutional aid. (Check here to see a complete list of colleges that need this form, and here’s a guide to the CSS Profile.)
If you are a top-notch student with significant financial need (aka you qualify for the maximum Pell grant) you absolutely need to get with a counselor/trusted adult to apply to some of these colleges and/or one of the need-based scholarship programs described at the bottom of this webpage. It could change your life.
The Bottom Line About Grants
Fill out a form or two to receive (potentially) thousands of dollars from people who agree that access to higher education is important.
“Okay, Amanda. I hear you. Apply for grants. Do the FAFSA. Got it. Can we talk about scholarships now?”
Sure thing.
Crash Course to Understanding Scholarships
Guess what.
“Umm… What?”
Just like grants, scholarships—aka merit aid—come in 3 varieties. (I like to keep things simple).
Here’s a chart that covers 98% of all the “free money” for college that exists.
| Merit Aid | Grant Aid |
|---|---|
| Institutional | Federal |
| Local/State (if applicable) | State (if applicable) |
| Private Scholarships | Institutional |
Why only 98%?
Some employers offer tuition benefits to their employees. #Starbucks #WalMart #Dollywood #TheUSMilitary. If this applies to you/your family, sweet! We trust you to investigate that because it could pay off big time.
For the rest of us, let’s start with the by-far largest source of merit aid: institutional scholarships.
Institutional Scholarships
This is money colleges give to students who will make them look good.
Unlike with grants—where institutional money is the last dollar in—when it comes to scholarships, college websites should be a student’s first-stop to find merit aid.
Why?
Because if you get money for year 1, it’ll probably—as long as you keep your grades up—repeat for years 2-4. (It’s a good idea to double-check this with your college before you assume, though.)
Only students applying to this college are eligible. That narrows the field a bit from say the Coca Cola Scholarship, where basically any U.S. senior with a 3.0+ GPA is eligible. (That’s probably about 1.5 million students btw.)
The money can be automatic. In fact, some colleges give scholarships to just about everyone they accept. Others don’t give scholarships at all. We’ll talk about how to figure out which ones do what in the next section. For now, let’s focus on the 3 ways colleges award scholarships.
The 3 Ways Colleges Award Institutional Merit Aid
Way #1: Automatically
Some colleges give students scholarships without them ever having applied.
Well, not actually. It’s just that the student’s college admission application (and essay!) served as their scholarship application. So when they get their acceptance letter, they may—shortly thereafter—be notified that they've won a specific scholarship. (Yay!)
Some colleges make it easier than others to know if you’ll get an automatic scholarship.
To see what I mean, compare the scholarship information pages for these 3 colleges: University of Wyoming, University of South Carolina and University of North Carolina Wimington.
Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Did you see how clear-cut Wyoming was? Heck yeah, my straight-shooting ancestral state. So proud.
South Carolina gave you an idea of what you could get, but there were no guarantees.
UNCW… There's one paragraph that says “Yeah. We’ve got some.” And that’s it.
If you want more info on scholarships, you gotta look elsewhere. (Thankfully my friends Jeff and Jennie make this amazing chart every year that does just that.)
Finally, some colleges automatically give scholarships to every admitted student with a pulse. (So—just to be clear—every admitted student gets a scholarship.) We call this “discounting” but if you want to call it a scholarship—and the colleges sure do—go for it.
A Quick Peek Behind the Curtain of Institutional Merit Aid Fun fact: The average tuition discount rate at private colleges is up to 56.2% . Wow.
"What does this mean?”
If a private college’s tuition is listed as $40,000, over half of folks going there are actually paying under $20,000.
“Why?”
Psychology. Humans like to get a deal/be recognized for being awesome. Plus, high tuition is often (perhaps inaccurately) equated with high value. (“It’s an expensive school so it must be worth all that money.”) Then when you get a scholarship you feel like they really value you. And they do! They want you to fill their class and pay the remaining tuition balance. And this is why colleges hire enrollment managers: to get the best possible class for the lowest possible price.
Neat, huh?
“Not really. It kinda feels like a scam.”
It’s not. It’s just high-acceptance colleges trying to survive in a time when a few dozen schools seem to get all the attention. #CollegesThatChangeLives #RIPLorenPope
Way #2: By Invitation/Nomination
Some colleges have a top scholarship (or two) that requires someone to nominate you or someone in the admissions office—based on your college application—to invite you to apply to an awesome scholarship.
Sometimes this involves a separate application or virtual interview to narrow the field. Sometimes you’ll be asked to come to campus for a “Scholars Weekend,” which usually involves an interview. This type is usually only for a college’s tip-top applicants.
Side note: This is one reason a kid who could go to a college with a 10% admission rate and pay full price may want to consider applying somewhere with a higher acceptance rate and being the big fish in a smaller pond. 🙂
Way #3: Through a Separate Application
Some colleges have an all-purpose scholarship application. These can be—and often are—due even before you know if you’ve been accepted to a college.
Some colleges have a “scholarship portal” that students can use to apply for scholarships once they’re accepted.
By now you’ve probably noticed a trend: “some colleges.”
What makes figuring out institutional merit aid so tricky for professionals like me is that every college does things differently.
Lucky for you you’re (probably) not a financial aid professional. This means instead of trying to learn how aid works at every college, you only need to learn about the ones you’re planning to apply to.
More good news: If you’re applying to similar types of colleges, they probably do things similarly.
Final thought and bit of good news:
Many colleges mix-and-match these three ways. This can make things confusing. Thankfully, every college has an office (either financial aid or scholarships) where a person is sitting at a desk ready to clarify any information you find (or don’t find) on the website.
“But what if the colleges I’m applying to don’t really have scholarships I can apply for? Or what they do but it won’t be enough?”
Not to worry. There’s two more types that could–with some work–make up the difference: local and private. Let’s start with the easier one.
Local Scholarships
Local businesses and organizations usually provide scholarships for students in their area. These usually aren’t big money (median = $1,000), and most aren’t renewable.
“Well that’s disappointing.”
Fair. But then again, these scholarship do have some major pluses:
The applications are usually pretty easy. Seriously, most will take you less than an hour.
They’re easy to find. Your counselor will post them on Naviance/SCOIR/your high school’s counseling website as he/she/they get them.
Pro tip, you can look on your state’s higher education website. They usually have a scholarship search engine with scholarships only for kids in your state.
There’s a relatively short window to apply. Most are January through April of senior year. And because many seniors tend to succumb to senioritis about this time, many eligible students don’t even apply.
All this adds up to mean your odds for this type of scholarship can be pretty great. And who couldn’t use an extra grand or two?
Private Scholarships
Have you ever typed “scholarship” into Google?
It’s overwhelming. How are you supposed to find anything helpful in all that?
I have some ideas for refining your search.
Make a list of nouns that describe you—things like Latina, engineering major, Nebraska resident, dependent of teacher, adopted. Once you’ve got 5-10, choose one you think will yield the best results and search for scholarships for that descriptor. This makes the search process a bit more systematic.
Enlist help. Ask a parent/trusted adult to help you find them (and put them in a handy organizer like this one).
When you find 3-5 scholarships you could apply for, stop and apply for one that’s the best fit/the one you think you’re most likely to win.
Repeat until you’ve applied for 5x the amount of money you hope to win.
“That sounds like a ton of work.”
Yep. The using-private-scholarships-to-pay-for-college isn’t for the faint of heart. But here are a couple more tips to make it easier.
Recycle your scholarship essays/letters of recommendation. You don’t have to start over every time.
Have a resume on hand for reference or to attach when possible. It’ll save you retyping your activities over and over.
And, most importantly…
Start early. After you get the bill for your freshman fall semester is, sadly, not the time to start looking. Most of the deadlines will have already passed by then. Plan to start looking your junior year and double down on your search right before senior year. (Some top scholarships are due in October.)
Question that students always ask: “Why isn’t there just one website with all the scholarships for me to search?”
This is an excellent question.
My best possible answer after 10 years of pondering:
Many websites/apps try to do just that (GoingMerry, FastWeb, Petersons, ScholarshipOwl, Scholly). There’s even a reference book sitting at your local library with pages and pages of them sorted by type. The trouble is that there are just. too. many. And new ones pop up and old ones fade out every year. And while there being “too many scholarships” is, in a way, an awesome problem to have, it makes collecting and wading through everything troublesome.
If any of you future computer science majors want to solve this for us, we’d all appreciate it.
Scholarships Recap
Three types:
Institutional: $$$, probably need to be in the top 10% of a college’s applicants or simply apply to a college that gives them to lots of people.
Local: Usually $ (but depends where you live), easy applications.
Private: Start early. Get help. Stay organized. Good luck.
Now for the home stretch. (Seriously, these last two are super short. You can make it.)
Crash Course to Understanding State Aid
Taxes stink, amiright?
But actually, many states use a portion of tax revenue to give students money for college. (Others use lottery money which, IMHO, is just a tax on statistically misplaced hopefulness.
But who should get this money? Students with awesome GPAs/test scores or students with the greatest need?
Answer: It depends where you live.
To find out how your state doles out aid, click on your state here.
Every state’s website is organized differently. Here’s what you’re looking for:
Eligibility
Is getting state aid in your state based on your GPA/test score or based on completing an aid form (usually FAFSA) and does it apply to you?
Note: Leave no stone unturned. The headliner program may or may not apply to you. Either way, there are often multiple programs, some of which could apply to you. Check everywhere.
Application
Is there a separate application/form and, if so, when’s the deadline?
Renewability
Does this award renew, and what are the requirements to get the money again next year? (Hint: usually you have to take a certain number of classes and keep a certain level GPA.)
Stackability
Do these awards get added only after other aid? Do they cancel each other out, or do they “stack” on top of each other to make a tower of money that covers more college costs?
For example, some state aid comes in the form of “last dollar” scholarships/grants that only come into play if federal aid doesn’t cover the bill first.
Not so fun fact: Colleges often do the same thing with their own money.
Portability
Where can you take these funds? In-state public universities are a given. Some funds can also be used at in-state private colleges. And sometimes—rarely—this money can travel across state lines.
One final consideration: in-state tuition.
Example:
University of Michigan (#Hail) is about $36,000/year for folks who live in Michigan.
For those of us who don’t live in Michigan, our listed price is about $78,000/year.
“Whoa. That’s more than double. Why?”
Well, U of M (#GoBlue) is rather highly regarded and folks are willing to pay that amount. (Yay capitalism?)
By that same token, the university is funded by state taxes from Michiganders who, in turn, if they gain admission, will pay a lower tuition rate.
Basically, public universities were designed to serve their own state’s students first. This is why the price tag (and often admission rate) is way kinder to in-state students.
“But do all in-state students pay $36,000 and all out-of-state students pay $78,000?
Because that’s still an incredible amount of money.”
No.
Yes, it is an incredible amount of money, but, no, many folks do not pay that amount.
“Why?”
This is your best question yet. (You rock.) And it’s the most important element of financial aid and, sadly, the one that most folks never even consider: financial fit.
Crash Course Busted Myth #2:
Nope.
Yes, published tuition costs at public universities are lower for in-state students than out-of-state students. (Like that Michigan example above.)
Yes, states have money set aside to help their state’s students pay for college. And—extra bonus—some public institutions even chip in more.
Example: U of M has an awesome need-based aid program that meets 100% of need for in-state students. (Go Blue Guarantee) So does UNC-Chapel Hill. (Carolina Covenant)
These two facts—lower tuition + state/institutional aid—make in-state public universities a great financial safety option for most students. (And having a financial safety school or two on your list is a must.)
However—and this is big—many, many colleges have aid policies that make them as affordable as an in-state public university would be… for certain students.
“But how do I know which colleges will be affordable for me without checking literally every college’s financial aid website?”
I am so very glad you asked. This is not only my specialty but also a perfect pivot point to our final—incredibly important—topic.
Crash Course to Understanding Financial Fit
Hopefully obvious fact: Some colleges cost more than others.
Example: Here are the approximate prices of four colleges located within 25 miles of each other.
Central Piedmont Community College: $3,000
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: $27,000
Queens University of Charlotte: $67,000
Davidson College: $80,000
These Cost of Attendance (COA) prices listed on the colleges’ websites are also referred to as “sticker prices.”
More important (and interesting) fact: The sticker price of a college is often very different from what a student actually pays.
Example: Here are the amounts Hypothetical Harriet could end up paying to attend each of the above colleges.
Central Piedmont Community College: $0
University of North Carolina at Charlotte: $6,000
Queens University of Charlotte: $14,000
Davidson College: $6,000
These “what you actually end up paying” dollar amounts are called “net prices.”
As you can see, the net price may be very, very different (and much lower!) than the sticker price of a college. Net prices are always either the same as or lower than the sticker price.
You may also have noticed that the actual “cheapest-to-most-expensive” order (in terms of net prices) doesn’t match up with what you may have expected.
“Then why don’t colleges just post their net prices instead of their sticker prices?”
Great question. Because the net price a college charges depends on the student.
Final, most important fact: Students at the same college often pay different amounts for the exact same classes and experiences.
Example: Here are four possible net costs of Queens University of Charlotte (the one with a sticker price of $53,000) for four different students for their freshman year.
Andres: $6,000
Billy: $53,000
Carlotta: $34,000
Dai: $11,000
These drastically varying net prices depend on three key factors:
How awesome the student is (from the college’s point of view)
How much the student’s family can afford to pay for college
And sometimes...Where the student lives
Thankfully, colleges do try to give you an idea of what sort of net price you can expect based on these criteria by having what’s called a “Net Price Calculator” on their website. Some are more accurate than others (more questions = more accurate). NPCs are helpful if you’ve got your heart set on only one or two schools, but filling them out is time consuming.
Luckily, there are also a couple other super handy tools I use to figure out the affordability profile of a particular college.
College Scorecard’s Cost by Income Chart on each college’s profile page
The downside of these tools (particularly for the public universities) is that they may not tell the full picture of which types of students receive aid.
That’s why I developed a simple two question survey to direct students to their likely financial fits.
Are you ready?
Question #1: How awesome are your grades/test scores? Awesome or not-so-awesome.
Question #2: How rich is your family? Rich or not-so-rich.
“Seriously? That’s a bit personal.”
Yeah, but it’s what the colleges base their aid on so we may as well be upfront.
Now you might be thinking, “My GPA is kinda awesome,” or “My family’s not really rich, but we aren’t poor either.” Colleges know there’s a continuum. For the moment, approximate the answers you think are best and let’s roll with those to assign you a Financial Fit Quadrant.
So, depending on your answers to those questions:
If you answered 1) Awesome and 2) Not Rich, you’re in Quadrant #1.
If you answered 1) Awesome and 2) Rich, you’re in Quadrant #2.
If you answered 1) Not Awesome and 2) Not Rich, you’re in Quadrant #3.
If you answered 1) Not Awesome and 2) Rich, you’re in Quadrant #4.
Now for the fun part. We get to go shopping: financially-fitted financial aid shopping.
For financial aid purposes, there are five types of colleges:
Public In-State Universities
Public Out-of-State Universities
International Universities
Yes, other countries have awesome colleges too. (And some of them are nearly free.)
Highly Selective Private Colleges/Universities
Think less than 20% of applicants admitted
Less Selective Private Colleges/Universities
Ones that admit 40%+ of applicants (aka most private colleges)
The Three Types I’m Skipping Over… Totally on Purpose
In an effort to streamline this section, I’m purposely skipping over two types of colleges for which your Financial Fit Quadrant doesn’t really matter: service academies and for-profit institutions.
Service Academies
The five US military academies (also known as federal service academies) are perhaps the single most affordable type of college: they are free for everyone who gets in.
“Why doesn’t everyone just go to these?”
- They are really, really competitive to get into.
- Not everyone wants to join/make their career in the military. If this college type sounds like something that could work for you, you can start learning more here.
Two Year Colleges (aka Public Community Colleges)
These tend to be financial fits for just about everybody. Either you can afford them because the cost is so low or because the federal Pell grant (or similar state grants) cover the costs.
For-Profit Colleges
The second college type I am purposely excluding from our list are for-profit colleges. As a student advocate, there is no possible way I can endorse these colleges given their collective track record as institutions that leave students with incredible debt, questionable outcomes, and non-transferable credits.
Two quick things to know if you’re new to the “paying for college” space. (Welcome.)
If the college has the name of a state or the word “state” in its name, it’s probably a public institution. Though not always. Example: New York University and University of Southern California are both private.
In/Out of state doesn’t usually matter too much for private colleges except for travel costs
Now that you know what’s on the menu, here are my recommendations of where to look for the best financial aid based on your financial fit quadrant.
QUADRANT #1 (AWESOME, NOT RICH)
Your combination of high achievement and high need position you for the best of both worlds: merit-based aid (scholarships) and need-based aid (grants). You’ve got lots of options!
Your Typically Great Financial Fits
Public In-State Universities (See the state aid bit above)
Your “It Depends” College Types
Private Colleges
Highly selectives can also be highly generous (See the CSS Profile bit above.)
Less selectives
Get a top scholarship
Patch together enough grants + merit scholarships to make it affordable
If you find a great fit private school, use the Net Price Calculator and use the financial fit tools I listed above (BigJ Consulting and CollegeScorecard are probably easiest) to get a good idea of what it could cost. Then fill out the FAFSA & CSS Profile (if applicable) and then roll the dice. #AleaIactaEst
Your Typically Not So Great Financial Fits
Public Out-of-State Universities
There are exceptions so always check the website before knocking a school off your list. But typically these institutions don’t have the funds to serve you as well as other types.
International Universities
Very little aid. So even though tuition can be much lower and college is only 3 years instead of 4, there’s no aid to help you buy the plane tickets, insurance, pay rent, buy groceries.
QUADRANT #2 (AWESOME, RICH)
Scholarships and low sticker prices are the name of your game. You’re looking for colleges that will either reward your awesome grades, scores, and talents or that simply have a sticker price your folks can afford out-of-pocket. Or ideally both!
Your “Most Likely to Reward Your Talents” Fits
Less Selective Private Colleges
These colleges love to discount for y’all. It’s just a matter of whether the offer aligns with how much you value the education at that school. (A lot of times it’s a pretty sweet deal.)
Your “Most Likely to Afford Out-of-Pocket” Fits
Public In-State Universities
May also give you a scholarship depending on your state! (See the state aid bit above)
Your “It Depends” College Types
Highly Selective Private Colleges
Scholarships at these colleges are, in some cases, virtually non-existent. For those they do have, expect competition to be fierce.
Good news: many of these colleges meet 100% of demonstrated need. So if your family needs money for you to attend, it’s probably there if you just fill out the FAFSA/CSS Profile.
Public Out-of-State Universities
The less selective, the more likely your GPA/test score is to yield some non-resident scholarships/tuition waivers. (Like the U of Wyoming example above.)
Likewise, some of these types may just have lower tuition than you’d expect (U of South Florida, Western Carolina) or a tuition match program (like the ones at U of Maine and U of Central Arkansas)
International Universities
If this is your fit, the overall cost can be much lower. Plus, it’s usually 3 years instead of 4.
QUADRANT #3 (NOT AWESOME, NOT RICH)
Believe it or not, you’ve got some awesome options. The fact that you qualify for need-based aid (grants) through the FAFSA and maybe even a state program means that, once you’re admitted, some colleges could be quite affordable.
Your Typically Great Financial Fits
Public In-State Universities
Lower tuition + (hopefully) state grants can make this work. If not, many states have excellent transfer pipelines from community college to nearby 4-year colleges. Given that community college is a virtual guarantee, I’d still apply to a public 4-year as long as you meet the academic minimums and then just see what happens.
Your “It Can Depend” College Type
Private Colleges
Highly selective private colleges can be highly generous (See the CSS Profile bit above.) But getting admitted may be the bigger challenge. Talk to your counselor about the admission profile of the colleges you’re interested in.
Less selective private colleges may be made affordable through a combination of grants and talent-based (sports, arts)/major-based (teaching)/other scholarships. You never know if you don’t apply. Just don’t put all your eggs in this basket.
Your Typically Not So Great Financial Fits
Public Out-of-State Universities
Most colleges of this type don’t have the means to serve you.
There are some cool exceptions. For example: In my current home state of NC, 4 universities have $2,500/semester tuition for out-of-state students. (NC Promise) If you’re eligible for a max Pell Grant ($7,500) + a federal student loan ($5,500), that gets the cost down to $7,000/year, which, with a full-time summer job and a part-time job during the school year, could be manageable.
International Universities
Very little aid. So even though tuition can be much lower and college is only 3 years instead of 4, there’s no aid to help you buy the plane tickets, insurance, pay rent, buy groceries.
QUADRANT #4 (NOT AWESOME, RICH)
The fact that you likely won’t qualify for grants or scholarships, means we’ll need to be a bit more creative. That said, public options are likely your best bet, but certainly not the only avenue.
Your Typically Great Financial Fits
Public In-State Universities
Low tuition is great. Unless you live in New Jersey. (I’m sorry y’all’s in-state tuition is so high.)
Your “It Can Depend” College Types
International Universities
Can be comparable in price to paying full price for an in-state public university. It just needs to be the right fit. Here are some easy-read pro/cons to get you started.
Private Colleges
The less selective ones love to discount for y’all. It’s just a matter of whether the offer aligns with how much you value the education at that school. (A lot of times it’s a pretty sweet deal.) They may also have a tuition match or other cool program (like Oglethorpe’s). The key is, once you’ve found a college you think is a good fit, to look into what they have to offer.
Your Typically Not So Great Financial Fit
Public Out-of-State Universities
Unless there’s a cool in-state tuition match program (like the ones at U of Maine and U of Central Arkansas) expect these colleges to charge you full price. If you’re cool with that, then I am too. 🙂
Final Thoughts
How does it feel?
“What?”
Knowing more about financial aid than the majority of college students.
“Seriously?”
Yep. And that’s why you’re going to graduate with less debt than them. (The national average is $34,000, btw.)
One final thing.
Please read your award letters.
“What are those?”
They’re the spreadsheet/table that every college that admits you will send that shows how much money you’re expected to pay.
They can be pretty tricky to read. So I made a tool to help you out when you’re ready.
“Thanks.”
No problem. Just do me one favor.
“What?”
Share this.
I don’t make money from it or anything. (Seriously. Zero commissions/passive revenue. Nada. Zip.) There’s just so much misinformation out there about paying for college and students/parents like you need all the help you can get. Share the knowledge.
You’ve got this. We believe in you.
Special thanks to Amanda for writing this post
Amanda Miller is a financial aid specialist and author of CEG's guide to Paying For College in Four Steps.
Amanda is an educator who especially loves three things: student empowerment, engaging presentations, and math problems. Over the past decade, she has served in overlapping roles as a public middle school history/math teacher, an independent test prep instructor, an in-school nonprofit college adviser, and a private high school math teacher. She has guided thousands of families to find their best path through the dual processes of college admissions and college affordability.
Amanda is a member of IECA—including its Subcommittee on College Affordability—and SACAC, and is a big fan of NASFAA and NCAG. She lives and works near her alma mater, Davidson College, with her incredibly supportive husband and two objectively adorable children.
