Strategies for Paying for Private College

But How Much?

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Disclaimer

When considering the costs of private college, it’s essential to look beyond just tuition. While tuition is the biggest expense, the overall cost of attendance also includes housing, meals, textbooks, and other educational necessities, which can accumulate quickly.

Private colleges are generally more expensive than public ones, with students at private four-year schools often paying over twice the tuition and fees of public universities. Still, the exact costs can differ significantly depending on the school you choose, so it’s worth researching and comparing options carefully.

Over the years, the cost of college has been climbing, adding financial pressure on students and families. Experts predict that by 2025, public college tuition will nearly double what it was in 2010, and private college tuition will be about three times its previous cost from over a decade ago. Without major changes, affording college might become even tougher for many families.

Sticker Price vs. Net Price

We are referring here to the “sticker price” of college – those costs published for all to see. The net price of a private college you might actually pay can often be much lower than the cost that is listed. This is because many private colleges offer financial aid packages to their students, which can significantly reduce the amount of tuition and fees due. For example, if you receive a combination of grants and scholarships you may pay only a fraction of what is listed as the average college cost. The Urban Institute even estimates that a full-time student at a public or private nonprofit university pays 40-45% of the school’s sticker price.

Strategies you will want to consider for covering the costs of paying for private school will include seeking out federal aid, looking for scholarships, potentially participating in dual enrollment and finally borrowing student loans. Planning ahead will be your best strategy and knowing what to plan for will certainly help with that process.

Fill out the FAFSA® (the Free Application for Federal Student Aid)

Every year, all college students are faced with the challenge of figuring out how they are going to pay for college. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) is important to help you meet this challenge. By completing the FAFSA, you are able to take advantage of federal and state aid programs. The FAFSA is the first step you must take, if you are looking to apply for federal grants and/or loans that can be used to pay for your college tuition and fees. By completing the FAFSA,

The FAFSA is also the first step in applying for any type of federal student loan, such as Direct or PLUS loans. Applying for these loans can be a lengthy process, so by filling out the form early, you can ensure you don't miss out on potential funding sources. There may be some schools that will require you to fill out the FAFSA before they will consider you for merit-based scholarships or other forms of aid.

The FAFSA isn't just important when it comes to getting financial aid - it's also helpful for you to understand how much money you will need to fund your college education. Through the use of online calculators available through the U.S. Department of Education, you will be able to estimate how much money you should expect to receive in federal grants (such as the Pell Grant) and loans each year so you can budget accordingly.

Seek out Scholarships

Another strategy to help cover private school college tuition is to seek out private scholarships by proactively searching and applying for them. Start by researching online and networking with organizations that may provide scholarship opportunities. You might also want to look for private foundations, corporations, sports teams, religious organizations and local businesses that could offer scholarships. Many of these entities have specific criteria for eligibility, so make sure you read the requirements carefully before applying.

Another great resource is to contact your guidance counselor or college financial aid office for scholarship information that might be available through the college or university. It’s important that you make sure you thoroughly research each scholarship opportunity before applying to make the best use of your time. Read all the application materials carefully and understand all the application requirements and deadlines. Ensure you meet all criteria and submit your applications promptly with proofread documents that demonstrate why you are an excellent candidate for the award. Taking these steps will give you a better chance at success when applying for private scholarships.

Consider Dual Enrollment at a Community College while in High School

Participating in dual enrollment at a local community college while also finishing high school can be a great way to help you save money for private college. Dual enrollment allows you to earn college credit while still in high school, meaning you can start your post-secondary education earlier and potentially graduate sooner. This could help to reduce the total expense of the private college, as some credits taken at the community college may be transferable towards your degree. Community colleges might even off offer you a reduced tuition rate if you are a dual enrollment student, meaning that additional savings can be realized.

One of the main tradeoffs when participating in dual enrollment while also finishing high school is having to juggle two schedules. High school classes often take priority over college classes when it comes to scheduling, meaning that some college classes may have to be missed or dropped. Also, keep in mind, that when you are enrolled in both a high school and a college courses, you may not have time for extra-curricular activities or part-time jobs.

Another potential tradeoff to consider is the workload associated with taking courses at both levels. College courses are typically more rigorous and demanding than high school courses, so you will have to balance your workload carefully in order to succeed in both environments. Be careful that you are not spending too much time on your college coursework, that you don’t have enough time for studying for your high school courses as well. Graduating high school and receiving that diploma is key to getting accepted into the private college.

It is also important to consider financial considerations when considering dual enrollment. Even at a potentially discounted rate, you will need to pay out of pocket for your community college tuition since many schools do not offer financial aid for dual-enrolled students and parents might find it difficult to shoulder the expense of tuition plus textbooks and other materials needed for both high school and college classes.

One final and very important consideration is to ensure you will be able to transfer the credits earned through dual enrollment to the college you plan to attend. Depending on the policies of individual universities or colleges, credit earned while still in high school may not transfer fully or at all when enrolling as an undergraduate. This could mean that some or all of the work done in dual enrollment could go unrecognized and will need to be redone in order to gain an undergraduate degree from another institution. Doing your homework in advance to make sure your efforts will be recognized is of the most importance.

Borrow if it makes Sense

You should borrow money to pay for college only when absolutely necessary, and when you are certain that you will be able to make payments on the loan upon graduation. Taking out a loan should always be undertaken thoughtfully and with an understanding of the potential consequences of being unable to pay it off. Make sure you consider factors such as your future income potential, the interest rate on the loan, possible deferment or forbearance options, and available scholarship opportunities.

Also think about potential alternatives such as working part time while attending school or taking fewer courses each semester to decrease overall tuition costs. Thoroughly research all available funding sources such as grants, or installment payment plans provided by your school. Seek out advice from a financial aid counselor who can provide additional guidance in making an informed decision about whether borrowing money is the best option for paying private college expenses.

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Fixed APR 3.24% - 17.99%¹

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This information is for graduate and undergraduate students attending participating degree-granting schools. Borrowers must be U.S. citizens or U.S. permanent residents if the school is located outside of the United States. Non-U.S. citizen borrowers who reside in the U.S. are eligible with a creditworthy cosigner (who must be a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident) and are required to provide an unexpired government-issued photo ID to verify identity. Applications are subject to a requested minimum loan amount of $1,000. Current credit and other eligibility criteria apply.

Actual rate and available repayment terms will vary based on your income. Fixed rates range from 3.72% APR to 16.74% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Variable rates range from 5.24% APR to 17.10% APR (excludes 0.25% Auto Pay discount). Earnest variable interest rate student loan origination loans are based on a publicly available index, the 30-day Average Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR) published by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The variable rate is based on the rate published on the 25th day, or the next business day, of the preceding calendar month, rounded to the nearest hundredth of a percent. The rate will not increase more than once per month. Although the rate will vary after you are approved, it will never exceed 36% (the maximum allowable for this loan). Please note, Earnest Private Student Loans are not available in Nevada. Our lowest rates are only available for our most credit qualified borrowers and contain our .25% auto pay discount from a checking or savings account. It is important to note that the 0.25% Auto Pay discount is not available while loan payments are deferred.

¹You can take advantage of the Auto Pay interest rate reduction by setting up and maintaining active and automatic ACH withdrawal of your loan payment. The interest rate reduction for Auto Pay will be available only while your loan is enrolled in Auto Pay. Interest rate incentives for utilizing Auto Pay may not be combined with certain private student loan repayment programs that also offer an interest rate reduction. For multi-party loans, only one party may enroll in Auto Pay.

²Nine-month grace period is not available for borrowers who choose our Principal and Interest Repayment plan while in school.

³Earnest does not charge fees for origination, late payments, or prepayments. Florida Stamp Tax: For Florida
residents, Florida documentary stamp tax is required by law, calculated as $0.35 for each $100 (or portion thereof) of the principal loan amount, the amount of which is provided in the Final Disclosure. Lender will add the stamp tax to the principal loan amount. The full amount will be paid directly to the Florida Department of Revenue. Certificate of Registration No. 78-8016373916-1.

⁴Earnest clients may skip one payment every 12 months. Your first request to skip a payment can be made once you’ve made at least 6 months of consecutive on-time payments, and your loan is in good standing. The interest accrued during the skipped month will result in an increase in your remaining minimum payment. The final payoff date on your loan will be extended by the length of the skipped payment periods. Please be aware that a skipped payment does count toward the forbearance limits. Please note that skipping a payment is not guaranteed and is at Earnest’s discretion. Your monthly payment and total loan cost may increase as a result of postponing your payment and extending your term.

The information provided on this page is updated as of 02/19/2025. Earnest reserves the right to change, pause, or terminate product offerings at any time without notice.

Earnest Private Student Loans are made by One American Bank, Member FDIC, or FinWise Bank, Member FDIC. One American Bank, 515 S. Minnesota Ave, Sioux Falls, SD 57104. Finwise Bank, 756 East Winchester, Suite 100, Murray, UT 84107.

Earnest loans are serviced by Earnest Operations LLC, 300 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 340, Oakland 94612. NMLS #1204917, with support from Higher Education Loan Authority of the State of Missouri (MOHELA) (NMLS# 1442770) One American Bank, FinWise Bank, and Earnest LLC and its subsidiaries, including Earnest Operations LLC, are not sponsored by agencies of the United States of America.

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT. YOU ARE NOT REQUIRED TO MAKE ANY PAYMENT OR TAKE ANY OTHER ACTION IN RESPONSE TO THIS OFFER.

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¹Student Loan Rate Disclosure: Variable interest rates range from 4.99% - 15.60% (4.99% - 15.61% APR). Fixed interest rates range from 3.99% - 15.60% (3.99% - 15.61% APR).

²Automatic Payment Discount: Borrowers will be eligible to receive a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. during such time as payments are required to be made and our loan servicer is authorized to automatically deduct payments each month from any bank account the borrower designates. Discount is not available when payments are not due, such as during forbearance. If our loan servicer is unable to successfully withdraw the automatic deductions from the designated account three or more times within any 12-month period, the borrower will no longer be eligible for this discount.

³Loyalty Discount: The borrower will be eligible for a 0.25 percentage point interest rate reduction on their loan if the borrower or their co-signer (if applicable) has a qualifying account in existence with us at the time the borrower and their co-signer (if applicable) have submitted a completed application authorizing us to review their credit request for the loan. The following are qualifying accounts: personal checking, personal savings, personal credit card or previous student loans owned by Citizens Bank, N.A. Please note, our checking and savings account options are only available in the following states: CT, DC, DE, FL, MA, MD, MI, NH, NJ, NY, OH, PA, RI, VA, and VT and some products may have an associated cost. This discount will be reflected in the interest rate disclosed in the Loan Approval Disclosure that will be provided to the borrower once the loan is approved. Limit of one Loyalty Discount per loan and discount will not be applied to prior loans. The Loyalty Discount will remain in effect for the life of the loan.

⁴Get My Rate: Selecting “Get My Rate” only requires a "soft credit pull" which does not affect your credit score. Submitting a full application will result in an inquiry on your credit report.

⁵Citizens Undergraduate Booked Loans from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024 were 4 times more likely to be approved with a qualified cosigner.

⁶Multi-Year Approval: Funds available for future use are subject to a soft credit inquiry at time of your next request to verify continued eligibility. After we make the initial Loan to you, you must continue to meet eligibility criteria to obtain additional funds under the Multi-Year Approval feature. Terms and conditions are outlined in the promissory note. Multi-Year Approval borrowers have a 99% approval rate on future requests for additional funds. The additional funds approval rate is based on the percentage of approved Multi-Year borrowers from Citizens between October 1, 2023 and October 1, 2024. The approval rate represents only borrowers who had previously accepted the Multi-Year Approval offer. Please Note: International students are not eligible for Multi-Year Approval.

Information advertised valid as of 05/01/25. Rates and offer subject to change. All accounts, loans and services subject to individual approval.

Fixed APR 3.39% - 15.13%*

Variable APR 4.70% - 14.85%*

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* Ascent’s undergraduate and graduate student loans are funded by Bank of Lake Mills or DR Bank, each Member FDIC. Loan products may not be available in certain jurisdictions. Certain restrictions, limitations, terms and conditions may apply for Ascent's Terms and Conditions please visit: AscentFunding.com/Ts&Cs. Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) displayed above are effective as of 6/1/2025 and reflect an Automatic Payment Discount of 0.25% on credit-based college student loans submitted prior to 6/1/2025, a 0.5% discount for on credit-based college student loans submitted on or after 6/1/2025 and a 1.00% discount on outcomes-based loans when you enroll in automatic payments. Loans subject to individual approval, restrictions and conditions apply. Loan features and information advertised are intended for college student loans and are subject to change at any time. For more information, see repayment examples or review the Ascent Student Loans Terms and Conditions. The final amount approved depends on the borrower’s credit history, verifiable cost of attendance as certified by an eligible school and is subject to credit approval and verification of application information. Lowest interest rates require full principal and interest (Immediate) payments, the shortest loan term, a cosigner, and are only available for our most creditworthy applicants and cosigners with the highest average credit scores. Actual APR offered may be higher or lower than the examples above, based on the amount of time you spend in school and any grace period you have before repayment begins. Variable rates may increase after consummation. 1% Cash Back Graduation Reward subject to terms and conditions. For details on Ascent borrower benefits, visit AscentFunding.com/BorrowerBenefits. Ascent applicants and borrowers that agree to the AscentUP Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, as well as students associated with an Ascent parent loan application, have access to the AscentUP platform.

The minimum amount is $2,001 except for the state of Massachusetts. Minimum loan amount for borrowers with a Massachusetts permanent address is $6,001.

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SoFi Private Student Loan

Undergraduate, Graduate, MBA, Law, Health Interest Rates: Eligibility and Important Details. Fixed rates range from 3.54% APR to 15.99% APR with 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates range from 4.64% APR to 15.99% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates are capped at 17.95%. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 1/7/25 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term and type of repayment option you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer (if applicable) and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Check out our eligibility criteria at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi. SoFi Private Student loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891 (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).

Parent

Interest Rates: Eligibility and Important Details. Fixed rates range from 5.74% APR to 16.85% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Variable rates range from 6.07% APR – 16.85% APR with a 0.25% autopay discount. Unless required to be lower to comply with applicable law, Variable Interest rates are capped at 17.95%. SoFi rate ranges are current as of 1/7/25 and are subject to change at any time. Your actual rate will be within the range of rates listed above and will depend on the term and type of repayment option you select, evaluation of your creditworthiness, income, presence of a co-signer (if applicable) and a variety of other factors. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. Check out our eligibility criteria at https://www.sofi.com/eligibility-criteria/. For the SoFi variable-rate product, the variable interest rate for a given month is derived by adding a margin to the 30-day average SOFR index, published two business days preceding such calendar month, rounded up to the nearest one hundredth of one percent (0.01% or 0.0001). APRs for variable-rate loans may increase after origination if the SOFR index increases. The SoFi 0.25% autopay interest rate reduction requires you to agree to make monthly principal and interest payments by an automatic monthly deduction from a savings or checking account. This benefit will discontinue and be lost for periods in which you do not pay by automatic deduction from a savings or checking account. The benefit lowers your interest rate but does not change the amount of your monthly payment. This benefit is suspended during periods of deferment and forbearance. Autopay is not required to receive a loan from SoFi.

Please borrow responsibly. SoFi Private Student loans are not a substitute for federal loans, grants, and work-study programs. We encourage you to evaluate all your federal student aid options before you consider any private loans, including ours. Read our FAQs.

Terms and Conditions Apply. SOFI RESERVES THE RIGHT TO MODIFY OR DISCONTINUE PRODUCTS AND BENEFITS AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE. SoFi Private Student loans are subject to program terms and restrictions, such as completion of a loan application and self-certification form, verification of application information, the student's at least half-time enrollment in a degree program at a SoFi-participating school, and, if applicable, a co-signer. In addition, borrowers must be U.S. citizens or other eligible status, be residing in the U.S., Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, or American Samoa, and must meet SoFi’s underwriting requirements, including verification of sufficient income to support your ability to repay. Minimum loan amount is $1,000. See SoFi.com/eligibility for more information. Lowest rates reserved for the most creditworthy borrowers. SoFi reserves the right to modify eligibility criteria at any time. This information is current as of 4/22/2025 and is subject to change. SoFi Private Student loans are originated by SoFi Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. NMLS #696891. (www.nmlsconsumeraccess.org).