Paying for College

Dec 05, 2023Lending

This blog post is a companion post to our recent Dollars & Sense podcast episode titled “Paying for College” parts 1 and 2. In this podcast episode we discuss with the Washington State University Tri-Cities Financial Aid department ( https://tricities.wsu.edu/finaid/) all about the value of a college degree and funding for higher education. They provided us with a wealth of information on these topics and also provided us with a lot of resources that you can use to look further into these topics.

Here are some quick links to get you started on your quest to college!

FINANCIAL AID AND SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES

• Value of a degree from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: https://www.bls.gov/emp/chart-unemployment-earnings-education.htm
• Washington College Grant awards by family income and institution: https://wsac.wa.gov/wcg-awards
• Washington State has is #3 in the nation for need-based aid: https://universitybusiness.com/these-25-states-provide-the-most-need-based-financial-aid-why-it-matters-to-your-school/
• Average Student Loan Debt: https://educationdata.org/average-student-loan-debt/

FAFSA/WASFA

• Free Application for Federal Student Aid: FAFSA ( https://studentaid.gov/)
• Washington Application for State Financial Aid: WASFA ( https://wsac.wa.gov/wasfa)
• FAFSA Completion Rates by State: https://national.fafsatracker.com/currentRates?sortBy=current_comp_rate&

COST OF ATTENDANCE

• COA Worksheet: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/227/2023/07/COA_Worksheet_05.pdf

SCHOLARSHIPS

• Washington State Opportunity Scholarship: https://waopportunityscholarship.org/
• Trusted sites for private scholarships:
  • College Board: https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/pay-for-college/scholarship-directory/
  • FastWeb: https://www.fastweb.com/
  • FinAid: https://finaid.org/scholarships/
  • Unigo: https://www.unigo.com/
  • Washboard: https://washboard.wsac.wa.gov/
• WSU Application: https://tricities.wsu.edu/scholarships
• Application tips: https://s3.wp.wsu.edu/uploads/sites/90/2022/04/Scholarships-Tips-Brochure-Print-me.pdf

529 SAVINGS PROGRAMS

• Washington State GET and Dream Ahead programs: https://529.wa.gov/
• Oregon State Programs: https://www.oregon.gov/highered/plan-pay-for-college/Pages/financial-aid.aspx
• Oregon College Savings: https://www.oregoncollegesavings.com/
• Idaho College Savings Program: https://www.idsaves.org/

Scott Cowan

Podcast Host | HAPO Community Credit Union

scott.cowan@hapo.org