By Williams College

Let’s cut to the chase and try to keep this as brief as possible while giving you helpful information. College is expensive!  We know paying for college is on most families’ minds. Fortunately, there’s a lot of good advice out there on how to make the whole process less painful. You’ve got plenty of time to do some research and find out that college graduates are more likely than non-grads to achieve their career goals and earn higher salaries.

Here are three steps you can take early in your college journey to help you prepare:

1. Have that conversation! Yup, that one...about how to pay for college. Don't do it when you can tell mom, dad or grandma is exhausted. Pick a good time and start off as simple as, “Soooo, can we talk about the best way to plan for how we’ll afford college?” Remember that My Coalition Counselor has resources to help. Here’s a great article to read with your family.

2. Get to know some financial aid vocabulary. There are certain phrases and terms colleges like to use, and they’ll expect you to understand them. This is the perfect time to study up so you can go into junior and senior year with some expertise! A few examples:

• FAFSA: The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the form you’ll need to fill out to get any financial aid from the federal government to help pay for college. Lots of states and colleges use the FAFSA to determine which students get financial aid—and how much they’ll get. The FAFSA asks for information about you and your family’s finances, including tax returns, so you’ll probably need your parents’/guardians’ help to complete it...but remember, it’s free (and no need to worry about this yet because you complete it when you’re applying to colleges).

• SAI: The new name of Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This is an important factor in the financial need analysis calculuation on the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid). Your SAI is determined by the financial information — including income and assets — you provide on your FAFSA. Colleges use your SAI to help determine your eligibility for financial aid.

• Grants: The federal government, states and colleges can provide grants. Most types of grants, unlike loans, are sources of free money that generally do not have to be repaid, so do your research and plan to apply for any grants you might be eligible for.

3. Start researching and applying for outside scholarships. It’s never too early to start this process. Believe it or not, there are lots of scholarship opportunities available at even this stage of high school! We recommend starting local to in your communities, then branching out until your reach national scholarships. You will have better luck if you start off in places where the applicant pool is smaller!

4. OK, we promised this would be somewhat brief, so the last piece of advice is to get to know your college/guidance counselor. Helping you choose a class schedule is just a fraction of what they have to offer. They know how to navigate the entire college process, so pay them a visit (in person or virtually!)

Be well, and enjoy the exciting journey ahead!

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