Make Your Money Work For You: Never Pay "Sticker Price" Tuition

College acceptances are just around the corner. The University of Georgia will announce their final Class of 2023 cohort next week and the Ivy’s are right around the corner (mark March 28th on your calendar)! After the excitement and celebrations of acceptances die down, reality tends to settle in—Just how are we going to pay for this?

It’s time to get serious. College costs are higher than they’ve ever been and studies predict that they’re on the rise. But, just like everything in life, you can always negotiate. Most families don’t realize that they can ask for more money. Of course you can! Which brings us to our bottom line motto when it comes to paying for college: Never pay sticker price.

There are copious amounts of scholarships, grants, and other avenues for merit-based aid. Down the needs-based track, there are strategies we advise parents to explore even before we start talking about loans.

The best way to get started is to get organized. We advise gathering all the information you’re going to need before you even begin the journey:

• Student resume

• Copy of ACT/SAT scores

• Unofficial copy of HS transcript

• Senior course list

• 1-3 letters of recommendation

• Copy of FAFSA/CSS Profile

We recommend you gather all the above items in a physical folder for easy access. We also advise scanning copies and exporting to PDF. Store them in a handy folder on your desktop or Google Docs so you can conveniently share with family members and counselors.