Prior to senior year, families should use the Net Price Calculators found on each college's website to estimate costs, and educate yourself about terms and practices. These calculators consider parent and student resources, including borrowing potential, to meet college expenses at that college. Bear in mind that the results are just an estimate of overall capacity to pay - not the dollar amount you would be expected to pay. The figures may be customized for the given college’s approach to assessing financial need, but may not reflect eligibility for merit-based scholarships, if offered by the college. Use the NPC to get a relative sense of how colleges may assess your family’s ability to pay for college. Be sure to ask questions about college costs, and even meet with a financial aid officer when visiting colleges.  Also look at MyinTuition - Quick Cost Estimator, used by a specific group of selective institutions which approach need-based financial aid in similar ways. 

• Colleges that meet 100 percent of demonstrated need — Helpful list of schools that pledge to meet students' full demonstrated need

• Colleges that are need blind in their admission process

Scholarships

Scholarships from sources other than colleges are often called “private” or “outside” scholarships. Research options prior to senior year by using online database such as Scholarships.com and Finaid.org and Cappex.com. Most applications for private scholarships are due senior year, after admission applications are filed. You can work ahead to identify scholarships that match your profile as early as junior spring. Here is a list of Scholarships to Consider in addition to those identified through individual research.

The key to winning private scholarships is finding programs – often local or based on very specific personal interests – where you may be a very good match with the award criteria, then putting in the work to apply to several such scholarships.

• Never pay for a scholarship search. Services that charge a fee offer little substantive information that cannot be found on your own for free.

• Check parent/guardian employers, professional associations, labor unions, community organizations, fraternal groups, and religious organizations for available grants or scholarships. FYI - 3M has a junior spring entry deadline for some sponsored scholarships.

• Explore online scholarships search tools. Consider creating a new email address to manage communications and marketing messages.

• Realize that searching and applying for financial aid takes time and effort, but the results can be very beneficial.

Loans for College

Borrowing money to help pay for the cost of college is a reality for many families. The best approach is to focus on Federal Direct Student Loans, which set limits on the amount of money that students can borrow and typically has some of the lowest interest rates available for families (compared to private loans from banks or other sources). While limiting the amount of debt a student takes on is important, managing a small amount of student loan debt can help young adults build credit post graduation. 

529 Plans

Detailed advice regarding 529 college savings plans can be found here: 

• Savingforcollege.com

• https://www.nerdwallet.com/article/investing/529-plans-by-state

Fall 2023: Changes to the FAFSA form will be implemented, which were made to simplify the form itself and expand aid eligibility for low-income families. Some changes may affect middle- to upper-income families with multiple children in college.  You can read about the changes here.  

Need-based financial aid forms (Explaining FAFSA and CSS Profile) become available starting October 1 of senior year and usually must be submitted at or near the same time as the admission application. That means early November for any type of "early" application.  For the majority of admission applications due in January, financial aid forms usually are due February 1.  However, it is very important to read the college-specific information about financial aid policies, requirements, and deadlines. Financial Aid forms look at family resources as of "two years prior" to the student's senior year.  For Class of 2024, the process will look at 2022 resources.  Copies of tax forms and W2s may be required. 

During senior fall, students and parents start by creating an FSA ID, then opening an account on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Financial Aid) website. Some of the more selective private colleges with generous grant resources require a form called the CSS PROFILE in addition to FAFSA; familiarize yourself with the CSS PROFILE if required by your colleges. The CSS Profile website has a page listing participating colleges. 

Above all, do not miss deadlines. If a deadline approaches and you do not yet have the necessary tax forms to use in completing financial aid forms, the best advice is to submit FAFSA and PROFILE using estimated financial information. You will have an opportunity to update your figures when reviewing the student aid report returned to you from FAFSA.   

• 10 Common FAFSA Mistakes to Avoid 

• Federal Student Aid — Information on Direct Student Loans, Pell Grants, and FAFSA 

• Minnesota Resources on Paying for College — Minnesota Office of Higher Education

Paul Martin of College Money Method does offer individual online consultations: Learn more and contact Paul at this link.

Local and in-person consultation: Since 2019, we have also recommended the advisers at Thrivent Student Resources to seek a confidential discussion of individual family needs, resources and questions about paying for college. 

• Thrivent offers a first free consultation, followed by individualized meetings. 

• Whether you know you will need financial aid for college, whether you wonder if your family will qualify for need-based aid, or if you have questions about wisely managing your financial assets to juggle college costs and other financial planning

• Click this link for a list of local advisors who can meet with you for an in-person consultation.