Paying for college & student loans
The big decision nobody explains before you sign
How college actually gets paid for — grants, scholarships, work-study, and the difference between federal and private loans. What borrowing really costs over a full term, and how repayment plans, deferment, refinancing, and forgiveness work. Warm, judgment-free, and honest about the numbers.
4 lessons · about 28 minutes total · 100% free
Saved on this device only — no account needed.
1. How college actually gets paid for
See where college money comes from, why the FAFSA unlocks most of it, and how to find a school's net price behind the sticker cost of attendance.
7 min read
2. Federal vs. private student loans
Understand subsidized vs. unsubsidized federal loans, the 2026–27 rates and limits, the protections only federal loans carry, and how private lenders price you.
7 min read
3. What borrowing actually costs
Follow a $27,000 undergraduate balance from disbursement to payoff: in-school interest, capitalization, the Tiered Standard term, and the total you actually repay.
6 min read
4. Repaying without drowning
Know which federal repayment plans exist in 2026, what a RAP payment looks like in dollars, what a payment pause costs, and what refinancing gives up.
8 min read