How to Pay For Private College Tuition

There is an article excellent appearing in the online newspaper, The Ledger, entitled ‘Aid In Paying Bills For College‘ about tips for paying for admission to top-flight universities such as Harvard and Yale. The article is written by Jonathan Clements who is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal. Mr. Clements frequently writes outstanding articles regarding personal financial matters.

One of the main focuses of the article is that it is often easier, than college parents might realize, to receive enough grant money for tuition to schools like Harvard. What is pointed out in the article, is how even relatively high income parents, can receive substantial grant monies.

Many private colleges have become more reluctant to saddle college students (and college parents) with substantial debt. They often provide significant grant money. For example, a premier private college which costs $40,000 per year, might offer $25,000 in grant money. Whereas a top public college, costing $15,000 might not offer any grant money. So essentially the net cost the college parent and student would need to pay for (or borrow) would be essentially the same.

The article points out that it is very important to understand the aid policies of each college. The income & asset factors considered for college aid decision are often very different than the government’s evaluation criteria.