For Students
College Uncovered: Buyer Beware
April 4, 2024
By The Hechinger Report & GBH Boston
Congratulations! You got accepted to college. The next notification you’ll get: a financial aid offer, telling you what it will cost.
Those financial aid offers are notoriously indecipherable and misleading, making it difficult to make college cost comparisons or even know how much you’ll owe. Often crafted in a way that make a college look more affordable than it is, they’re full of technical jargon and abbreviations. Loans are described as ‘awards.’ The offers will list an ‘expected family contribution’ of zero, not accounting for those parent or student loans, which, in fact, eventually require a substantial family contribution.
In this episode of College Uncovered, The Hechinger Report and GBH show you what to look out for and secrets to taking back control of the financial aid process, and getting the best deal.
This episode of College Uncovered features uAspire's Anika Van Eaton, VP of Policy, and uAspire's MA Policy Fellow Alum, Michelle Jean Louis. Anika and Michelle share insights on financial aid offers.
You can listen to this episode and access the full transcript here.
Those financial aid offers are notoriously indecipherable and misleading, making it difficult to make college cost comparisons or even know how much you’ll owe. Often crafted in a way that make a college look more affordable than it is, they’re full of technical jargon and abbreviations. Loans are described as ‘awards.’ The offers will list an ‘expected family contribution’ of zero, not accounting for those parent or student loans, which, in fact, eventually require a substantial family contribution.
In this episode of College Uncovered, The Hechinger Report and GBH show you what to look out for and secrets to taking back control of the financial aid process, and getting the best deal.
This episode of College Uncovered features uAspire's Anika Van Eaton, VP of Policy, and uAspire's MA Policy Fellow Alum, Michelle Jean Louis. Anika and Michelle share insights on financial aid offers.
You can listen to this episode and access the full transcript here.