Paying for College Shouldn’t Be Harder than Going to College! PAY LESS FOR COLLEGE: The Must-Have Guide to Affording Your Degree, 2023 Edition, gives families the power to:
- Navigate financial aid with confidence
- Identify practical ways to reduce the cost of college
- Understand how colleges build financial aid packages
- Maximize the free money (grants and scholarships) awarded by the college
- Take control of college costs
The 2023 Edition is fully updated for the 2023-24 school year and includes a chapter that prepares families for the big changes coming to the FAFSA and college financial aid in the 2024-25 school year.
Authors Elizabeth Walter and Debra Thro were concerned about the abundance of confusing, conflicting, and misleading college financial aid information that exists, how stressful college financial planning can be, and how so many families are blindsided by the amount of money they must come up with when college financial aid letters arrive. There had to be a better way.
After extensive research, Walter and Thro sifted out the most meaningful, relevant, and often overlooked college financial aid information that is invaluable to college-bound families. This eye-opening, no-nonsense book is packed with user-friendly guidance and reveals a host of strategies that can help anyone save real money on overall college costs.
Daftar Isi
Introduction
Paying for College Shouldn’t Be Harder than Going to College
Your Road to Success
This Book Is Your Guide
You’ve Come to the Right Place
Chapter 1: What You’ll Pay for College
The Cost of Attendance
It’s Your Net Price That Matters
Net Price Begins with Your EFC
EFC Determines Your Need
The EFC Isn’t All You’ll Pay
Chapter 2: What Is Financial Aid?
Types of Financial Aid
How to Access Need-Based Financial Aid
How to Access Merit-Based Financial Aid
Sources of Financial Aid
Other Sources of Help with College Costs
Chapter 3: The Truth About Financial Aid Packages
What Is ‘Meeting Need?’
Mind the Gap
How Colleges Build Financial Aid Packages
It’s the Net Price Over Four Years That Really Matters
Chapter 4: How to Reduce Your Net Price
Minimize Your EFC
Maximize Your Free Money
Chapter 5: Calculating Your 4-Year Price Tag
Decode Freshman Year Financial Aid Letters
Your Annual Net Price Will Change
The Cost of Borrowing
Is It Truly a 4-Year Price Tag?
Chapter 6: Additional Ways to Shave College Costs
Graduate Early (or, at Least, on Time)
Ways to Reduce the Costs
Wisely Manage Your Debt
Wisely Use Your Tax Benefits
Chapter 7: The Family Conversation About Money
Chapter 8: Changes Coming to the FAFSA and Financial Aid
The FAFSA Simplification Act
Changes to the FAFSA Experience
Changes to Need Analysis
Changes to Pell Grant Eligibility
Changes that Increase Accessibility to Federal Student Aid
Other Changes
The Upshot
Appendix A: Links, Resources, and Worksheets
Appendix B: Guide to the FAFSA
What Is the FAFSA?
Why File a FAFSA?
How to Access the FAFSA
What You Need to Complete the FAFSA
The Six Sections of the FAFSA
Other Important Things to Know About the FAFSA
Appendix C: Guide to the CSS Profile
What Is the CSS Profile
Why Some Colleges Require the CSS Profile
How to Access the CSS Profile
What You Need to Complete the CSS Profile
The Sixteen Sections of the CSS Profile
The FAFSA vs the CSS Profile
Other Important Things to Know About the CSS Profile
Colleges and Programs That Require the CSS Profile
Appendix D: Guide to the EFC
What Is the EFC?
How Is the EFC Used?
How to Know Your EFC Before Submitting the FAFSA
How the EFC Is Calculated
Six Important Facts About How the EFC Is Calculated
Four Factors That Can Have a Large Impact on the Size of Your EFC
Other EFC Facts
If I Calculate That My EFC Is Very High, Should I Still File a FAFSA?
Appendix E: Guide to Financial Aid When Parents Are Divorced, Separated, Unmarried, or Remarried
Student Status
Which Parent(s) Must Report Financial Information on the FAFSA?
Parents
Divorce
The Role of the Financial Aid Officer
Other Living Circumstances That May Affect Financial Aid
Reporting Income and Assets on Financial Aid Forms
The CSS Profile
Financial Aid Glossary
About the Authors
Tentang Penulis
Debra Thro is an American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Certified College Admissions Specialist. Thro holds a BA in Communications and Social Science from the University of South Florida.
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