Financial aid: what exactly does that mean? When you’re
considering what colleges to apply to, cost will likely play an important role
in your decision. But before you write off schools like Duke, Dartmouth, or
Amherst because of their seemingly high prices, you will want to know the
difference between the published cost and the actual cost to you and your
family. Most people end up paying less than the total published price.
The colleges and universities that will be at JCAS are need-blind, meaning they don’t consider
your family’s financial situation when reviewing your application. This is
because they want to ensure that cost is not prohibitive, so after determining
how much your family can pay, they work to meet the rest of your financial
need. This might be a combination of grants and scholarships (which you don’t
need to pay back) or loans (which you pay will have to pay back). At Stanford,
students whose parents earn less than $125,000 are not expected to pay tuition
or fees; families earning under $65,000 are not expected to pay tuition, fees,
room or board – in other words, aside from some hidden costs like textbooks and
travel, college is essentially free. These
policies extend to undocumented students as well.
At JCAS, we’ll walk you through all you need to know, and there
are specific sessions dedicated to talking about and answering your questions
related to financial aid. In the meantime, knowing the difference between these
terms can help you as you start comparing the cost of colleges you’re
interested in.
·
Financial
Aid – Refers to the monies you get from a college or university to pay
tuition and fees, and room and board (if living on campus). This might include
any combination of the following: grants (based on your family income) and
scholarships (merit-based), student federal loans (which you begin paying back
6 months after graduation), and parent federal loans (“Parent Plus” loans,
which parents begin making payments on immediately).
·
Sticker
Price – The total published cost of college, to include tuition, room and
board, and any fees (gym, library, etc). Some of these are estimated, like
books, and may actually be different than what the college estimates.
·
Net Price
– The price you actually pay, so sticker price minus any grants, scholarships,
and any education tax benefits you get.
·
Net Price
Calculator – A really awesome tool you can use to estimate how much your
family will have to pay for college. Most schools should have one on their
website. Just Google “(school name) net price calculator” and try it out!
If you have specific questions, we encourage you to start
doing some background research on your own. You can also write your questions
down and bring them to JCAS in May (be sure to register
if you haven’t already!)
Happy searching!
Nicole
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