We all know college is expensive. Really expensive. We are here to talk about that in a healthy way and to help your families talk about this in a healthy way. Talking about college budgets early on in the process REDUCES stress (and this time period is stressful enough).

College costs have increased DRAMATICALLY in the past 30 years. This is universal - costs are significantly higher everywhere. This is why it is so important to talk about cost. Our aim isn’t to tell anyone what to do, but rather to make it easier to have the conversations about paying for college.

The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) the gateway to grants and aid that can make college more affordable for lower income families. It’s a straightforward and helpful tool and can open a lot of doors.  It was updated last year and there were glitches, but we expect it to be smoother for everyone this year.

There are a lot of different terms thrown around, and the term “scholarship” can mean different things to different people, so let’s talk about what we mean with these different terms.

As your student works their way through the application process, check in on the status of their “list.”  Make sure that they have at least a couple of schools on that list where admission is highly likely AND the cost is affordable.