Who Do You Think You Are?

12Can You Afford College?

College is expensive. According to the College Board, one year of tuition and fees at a private college averaged just under $33,500 in 2016. That's more than 50 percent of the average income earned by a U.S. household. Paying for college is an investment in the future, but the cost can also be one of the biggest stressors for families. Luckily, there are ways to help pay for college, but it takes time and work to identify them. The first step is figuring out the true cost of attendance. From there you can assess your personal resources and investigate financial aid, scholarships, loans, and other ways to pay for college.

What's the Real Price of College?

Every college publishes a “sticker price,” which reflects the annual cost of tuition and fees. The sticker price can vary dramatically from the actual cost of attendance, however. Factors such as additional fees can add to the cost of college, while scholarships and grants may reduce it. The true cost of college doesn't have to be a mystery, and there are ways to get a peek at what you'd actually have to pay. To begin, it helps to understand the terminology as well as the tools that are available to help predict the true price of college.

Tuition, Fees, and Other Costs

Colleges publish the cost of tuition and fees on their websites, and this information can also be found in college search engines and college ranking magazines. Tuition, which pays for instruction and the operating costs of an institution, ...