PAY LESS FOR COLLEGE: The Must-Have Guide to Affording Your Degree, 2023 Edition

by Elizabeth Walter, Debra Thro

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781735602981
Publisher:	College Admissions HQ
Publication date:	09/26/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Elizabeth Walter is an American School Counselor Association (ASCA) Certified College Admissions Specialist. Walter holds a BS in Biology from SUNY Geneseo and a PhD in Experimental Pathology from Case Western Reserve University.
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.

Table of Contents

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