"The billing office is one of the friendliest places on campus, says Aja Beckham, a junior at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. What wasn’t friendly: her bill, and the big number on it.
Ever since her freshman year, she says, her biggest struggle in college has been figuring out how to pay for it." …
I not sure what the solution is. The truth is asking these questions as a freshman is at least a year too late. By the time a student is in college the reality is that you will mostly be taught to understand your predicament not find a path out of it. There are a lot of places to get information concerning college financing and what the numbers mean. However, until they’re your numbers it often doesn’t seem to mean much. By the time you have those numbers you at most have a month to a month and a half to make sense of them. The best option is to have parents/adults in your life who can wisely guide you and be willing to listen to them. Counsellors and educators can educate students on how financial aid and scholarships work but not how they relate to the students situation.
Our high school has a financial aid night and FAFSA completion night, but not sure how many parents, let alone students attend.
I have read up on things here at CC, I know every number from my D’s billing statements for the first two semesters by heart. I know what aid we can expect.
The unknown for this upcoming year will be the exact cost of her housing choice, food expenses since she will have a kitchen (but much lower than meal plan I expect), how much state grant we will qualify for, cost of books.