College Cost$ & Your College $earch - FAQ$Created by F14 Intern Maggie Finn '16, with assistance from uAspire
Q: How much does college cost?
A: That depends on what type of school you are interested in attending. In-state tuition at a public school is cheaper than going to a private school. Community college is a cheaper option than public or state schools and allows you the option to transfer for a four-year school. Public universities offer in-state tuition for students who are residents of that state (for example, if you were a resident of California, you would get an “in-state tuition” price for all of the Cal State universities and UCs).
Q: How am I going to pay for college?
A: Colleges will take into account your ability to pay for school based on your financial aid application. Financial aid is a completely separate process from the college application process but just as important. Your financial aid package will be a combination of different types of money that will help you to pay for college. Your package is determined by each school you apply to, and will be different for each school. This package may include:
- Free Money - you do not have to pay it back
- Scholarships and/or grants from the school, which may be based on merit (grades) or need (ability to pay).
- Government aid - money that the government will award you based on need to help pay your school bills
- Outside scholarships - scholarships that you apply for on your own based on meeting certain criteria. There might be scholarships for a high GPA, for athletes, for students of color, for state residency, etc.
- Borrowed Money
- Loans - you borrow money from the government or from a private organization like a bank and need to pay it back (sometimes with interest, sometimes without interest) starting sometime after you graduate college and start making money. There are different types of loans with different types of interest rates, and some are better than others. For example, federal loans are better than private loans, because they have a lower interest rate, which means you’ll have less to pay back.
- Earned Money
- If your parents’ income or your income is high enough, you will be required to pay some of your college fees “out of pocket”. If this is not feasible for you or your family even though the Financial Aid Calculator thinks that you can pay, you can appeal your award or take out another loan to cover the difference.
- Federal Work Study - awarded based on need, will guarantee you a job on campus so you can work for expenses related to school, whether that is your tuition bill, meal plan, books, or personal expenses (shampoo, train ticket home, etc.).
Q: How exactly is my financial aid award determined?
A: Schools look at your FAFSA form (required) and CSS profile (not always required), which are two forms you have to fill out in order to receive financial aid. The main form, the FAFSA, accounts for various factors, including family income, household size, and whether you have other siblings in college. They will plug this into a complicated formula and output an EFC, which stands for Expected Family Contribution. This will be a dollar amount that is how much your family is expected to pay for college. It might be $0, $100, $1000, $10,000, or $65,000, or anywhere in between. This number will get sent to the schools you applied to, and the schools will determine what your financial aid package will look like.
Q: What is the FAFSA?
A: FAFSA stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It is a completely separate process from the college application process but just as important. The FAFSA form becomes available January 1 of your senior year, and the earlier you fill it out, the more money there will be available. Because this is a federal process, you must be a U.S. Citizen or Permanent Resident to receive federal financial aid.
Q: How do I find scholarships? When should I start looking at scholarships?
A: There are so many resources for scholarships! The best way is to do internet searches and look at your potential colleges’ websites for scholarship opportunities. This process takes time, patience, and effort. It is never too early to start looking at scholarships. Deadlines can be early - as early as the first few months of your junior year of high school, and you don’t want to miss out on potential free money! Your SEAD intern can help with this process! Guidance counselors and college offices often post about scholarships and can help you with this process also!
**Click here: Financial Aid Quiz - The Basics to complete the quiz after this section to earn points for reading through these FAQs!**
