Cost, aid, loans and what college really costs.
One free form decides federal grants and loans, most state aid, and the money colleges hand out themselves. Here is what it asks, who has to be on it, and the mistakes that cost families the most.
Public colleges charge outsiders roughly twice what they charge residents. Here is what that is worth in money, and the exceptions that make it worth checking rather than assuming.
Aid offers are not standardised, and several of them list money you must repay next to money you do not. Here is how to work out what a college actually costs you.
Aid letters list loans next to grants under one total. They are not the same thing, and the difference is the most costly misunderstanding in college finance.
The number colleges advertise is not the number most students pay. Here is the difference, and why comparing sticker prices tells you almost nothing.
