Financial Advice
Starting early and organizing your financial records will greatly improve
your financial aid process. Some scholarships have early deadlines,
so you should check with your guidance counselor or online scholarship
searches for details. Even while in your junior year in high school, you
can begin searching for scholarships and preparing for financial aid application
forms.
A key for applying for financial aid is completing a Free Application
for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) form. Click here for
additional details on FAFSA.
Types of financial aid
- College scholarships and college grants are the best type of awards because you do not
have to pay them back.
- College loans must eventually be paid back based on the stated terms, including the interest
rate and when you start paying back.
Types of College Scholarships
- There are general merit-based scholarships and need-based scholarships
that can be used at any accredited college or university.
- Individual colleges also have merit-based scholarships (merit could be
in academics, sports, or music, for example) as well as financial-need grants that
can only be used if you attend that college.
- Government grants are available; examples include the Federal Pell Grant and other
state grant programs.
Please discover more information on
scholarships.
Types of loans
- Several federal loan programs exist to help students finance their college
education.
- Colleges may also provide loans for students with various terms.
- College loans can be helpful and may have a subsidized interest rate or delayed
payments that start after graduation.
- There are also private-sector companies such as banks and financial services
companies that provide college loans to students.
Please investigate more details about
college loans.
Parental and student contributions
"Parental and student contributions" to college payments are the parts that hurt.
Typically, a college calculates:
| financial need = |
(tuition + room + board) - |
| (expected parental contribution + student contribution) |
The "sticker price" of (tuition + room + board) is set by each school
and is probably somewhere between $8,000 and $15,000 for a public school (assuming
in-state tuition) to between $20,000 and $35,000 for a private school. Many
schools will meet your financial need with scholarships and/or loans.
Princeton University guarantees that it will meet a student's financial
need with all grants rather than loans.
Unfortunately, some schools are unable to meet your financial need
and you may seek additional loans. In certain cases, you and your
family may not be able to pay the "expected family contribution" - they
expect you to pay a lot - so you may need to apply for additional loans.
The expected parental contribution is based on the assets and income
of the student's parents, while the student contribution is based on the
student's assets and income. While it would be unethical to hide
assets or income, there are certain strategies you can use for how you
can structure your college savings to decrease your overall expected contributions.
Seeking more assistance
Please contact us for additional information on financial planning services.
