ABC's of College Financial Aid

The ABC’s of College Financial Aid with Jean Burke

Podcast # 24

Did you know that the real cost of college varies depending on the institution or the things you need to do to avoid costly mistakes when filling out the financial aid packet? In this podcast Jean gives timely information you will not want to miss – such as the date to get a jump on all that free money!

Jean Burke is an award-winning author and creator of College Prep Genius

Find More information about Jean here

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Other podcasts that deal with the topic of scholarships:

Secrets to Finding Scholarship

Scholarship Prep Getting it Right

SAT and Athletic Scholarships

Show Notes: The ABC’s of College Financial Aid

Real cost of college for various institutions it is important to understand the vocabulary for college financial aid
- The real cost of college is from 10k per year, 16k, 26k, 31, up to approx. 55k for an ivy league school – details on the podcast.
How is college paid and how much of it comes from financial aid?
- It depends on the college but on average 50% are from loans, 40% from grants, and only 10% from scholarship which means many scholarships go unclaimed.
What is a COA
- COA stands for cost of attendance
What you must know before you fill out the financial aid packet
- You need to know the equation that is important in understanding the amount of financial money available to you – such as your EFC – estimated family contribution – this is your net worth, household size and has other considerations – specified in the podcast. The equation is COA – EFC = Need. There are sites that will generate the EFC (be careful not to give away personal information such as social security numbers and other sensitive information) and the collegeboard.org has a link to college financial aid here.
FAFSA explained
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid – this can mean money that is paid back or money this is a “gift” or does not need to be paid back. This money is available to middle class as well as low income families.
Three of the most costly FAFSA mistakes
- too little
- too late
- too much