Don't worry. As long as you hit that wire with the connecting hook at precisely 88 miles an hour, the instant the lightning strikes the tower... everything will be fine! 

Don’t worry. As long as you consider the Cost of Attendance when you start to put your college list together, figure out your Expected Family Contribution, identify the true price using the Net Price Calculator on each college website, complete your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), and CSS Profile at as close to October 1 as possible, and then review the need-based aid and the merit aid on your Student Aid Report... everything will be fine! 

Every time we are about to embark on the financial aid journey with a family, this Back To The Future scene pops into our heads. At first, it seems impossible to learn all the components. In fact, it can seem overwhelming the first time you hear about the process.

Similar to the way we identify and guide a student through developing a college list that they love, breaking down the financial aid process into manageable chunks makes it all less intimidating. At College Mode Consulting, we not only walk families through a step-by-step process that prepares them to complete their forms in October, but we also walk them through some tactics on teaching their child about the reality of college debt. 

Early on in the process, families can estimate what colleges might expect them to pay by figuring out their Expected Family Contribution. Spoiler alert...the amount colleges think you can afford to pay will not be the same as what you think you can afford to pay. 

When you’re considering which schools to put on your college list, one part of the process is to figure out the true cost of attendance. In addition to tuition costs, costs for room and board, books, fees, and estimated miscellaneous expenses are published on the college website and should be included in your comparison.

By law, each institution is required to include a Net Price Calculator on their website. A college’s sticker price is the full published cost, while the net price is the cost of attending a college less any grants and/or scholarships that they receive. Families should pay more attention to the Net Price than the sticker price. And unlike anything else you might buy–like your house, car, boat, or vacation–the true cost for your student to attend that college will not be revealed to you until your student applies and you receive your Student Aid Report.

At College Mode, we’ll keep sharing tools and tactics to help you be wise consumers of higher education. If you think you would like more guidance, give us a call to schedule a free consultation. We’ll take the worry out of your college planning.