Debt-Free U
College, America's Myths
Four peeps you can't trust for choosing colleges
High school counselors
Admissions officers
Financial aid officers
Family & Friends
Myths
The college must be elite
Cost is irrelevant, school quality is everything
The quality of the school will affect my career opportunities
Just don't borrow
Actually low-IQ borrowing options
- Borrowing from 401k
- Using 401k hardship
The Parent PLUS loan, which is just parent debt
borrowing from any retirement funds
Nearly all of this pings your financial aid eligibility anyway
The FAFSA can't calculate for shit
The FAFSA docks student's savings 35% as part of the student's EFC. That's absurdly large.
It doesn't account for long-term predictor's of financial health
- Credit Card debt
- Retirement funds
- home equity value
Save by downsizing
- live poor, don't buy frivolous indulgences
- get a 2nd job
- sell your junk
- stop smoking
- don't get any new monthly payments (like a new car)
- Stop spending a lot of money to vacation
Financial Aid
Don't expect great packages, be wary of ones that are basically a filler of loans work-study predictions
Getting a lot of 3rd party aid could meaningfully hurt your FAFSA consideration