Estimated cost

Overview:

All colleges list the price of tuition on their website. However, that is most likely NOT the amount you will need to pay to attend that school! The amount you end up paying depends on two main factors:

1. The cost of attendance

2. The amount of financial aid you receive

The cost of attendance is more than just the tuition. You will also need to factor in paying for books, transportation, housing, etc. This varies by school, so each college will provide an estimated total cost of attendance. Total cost of attendance - your financial aid = amount you will pay!

Before you apply:

When it comes to financial aid, you won't know exactly how much you qualify for until after you are accepted to a school. However, you can get an estimate by using a Net Price Calculator. I recommend using this tool at each college you are interested in.

After you are accepted:

Financial aid offers can be very confusing, so I highly recommend reviewing everything with someone in the College & Career Room before you make your final decision! You can view each of your financial aid offers in the online portal that you make for each college. I recommend using this worksheet (with me or on your own) to determine and compare costs.

Should I take out student loans?

It can be okay to take out a small loan, as long as you are making an informed decision and have a plan for how you will pay that money back! However, if attending a specific college would require you to take out a lot a of money in loans, you may want to look into other options. We don't want students to go into so much debt that they will be paying it off for years and years to come!

If you are considering taking out loans, I highly recommend checking in with someone in the College & Career Room. You can also use FSA's loan simulator tool to calculate how long it will take to pay back your loans, what your monthly payment will be, and the total amount of money you will spend overall.

Check out this website to learn more about student loans and this helpful tool with definitions of commonly used terms.