How Families Can Talk About Paying for College

There’s almost too much information available about students finding a college with the right “fit” academically and socially, but what about the right financial fit?  What’s the difference between a college’s “sticker price” and the actual cost of attendance? What kinds of financial assistance are available to students and their families, and from where?  How much debt is okay? And when should families begin talking about paying for college?  

In this frank and pragmatic conversation, Jayne Caflin Fonash, president of NACAC, Tracy Jackson, supervisor of school counseling services in the Loudoun County Public Schools in Ashburn, Virginia, and Megan Coval, vice president for policy and advocacy at the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators in Washington, D.C., reveal the essential steps to take and exactly what information is vital in the process. NACAC’s Mary Stegmeir moderates the conversation.

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