As you start your college search, you may be curious about paying for college and how this process works. Starting a conversation about financial aid with your family is a great way to begin brainstorming plans for financing your education. Set aside a good time to talk with your family and check out these steps to get your conversation going.
1. Do your research
It’s helpful to have specific schools in mind to guide your conversation. Once you’ve built your school list and identified institutions that align with what you want out of college, review their financial aid philosophies online. One example of this is our Tuition & Aid page. Make sure you’re looking at the undergraduate websites, as graduate schools have their own financial aid pages, too!
While you’re exploring the undergraduate financial aid websites, note the cost of attendance and what that includes for each school on your college list. It’s important to stay organized, so consider creating a spreadsheet that compares various factors between institutions, like if they offer need-based and merit-based scholarships. If you don’t know what certain terms mean—that’s okay! You can refer to our Financial Aid Glossary, or write down questions to bring to your family.
2. Brainstorm questions
Be proactive by preparing questions to ask members of your household. These could include the following:
- What is our budget for college?
- Am I expected to work part-time during the semester to help cover textbook costs or personal items?
- Are we eligible for need-based aid?
- Should I consider using loans to pay for college?
- What can our family contribute to college costs? How much am I responsible for?
You can write down notes from the conversation and refer to them throughout your college search. Now that you know more about how your family expects to finance your college education, you can have questions in mind when evaluating schools that may be a good fit for you.
One thing we’d like to point out is all students, both domestic and international, should plan for four years of financial aid, not just the first year. If your circumstances change over the four years, the amount of financial aid you receive can also change. It’s worth talking about if your family anticipates any changes in income, such as retirement or one of your guardians going back to school.
3. Take advantage of available resources
We want to support you and your family during this process and are happy to connect you with helpful tools. A good place to start working with your specific finances is our estimators. You can use these to receive a ballpark estimate of your college costs (for domestic students only).
We also invite you to talk with our team. In our financial aid-focused webinars, Financial Aid 101 and Financial Aid 101 for International Citizens, members of our Student Financial Support team explain financial aid lingo, break down the process, and answer your questions.
If you need assistance throughout your college search, please reach out. Our financial aid advisers are dedicated to helping you and your family understand and evaluate your financial aid options so you can make the best decision for you.
