“How are we actually going to pay for this?”
If you’ve asked that question, you’re not behind and you didn’t do anything wrong. You’re paying attention. But for most families, that question shows up at the very end of the process, after the list is built and the acceptances are in. By then, a lot of the decisions that shape the bill have already been made.
So here’s the idea I want you to walk away with: the college list is the loan strategy. If you want to know how to pay for college without loans, or at least with a lot fewer of them, the list is where to start.
Why it matters more this year: the 2026 Parent PLUS change
You may have heard about the new caps on Parent PLUS loans. I covered them in July in The Parent PLUS Loan Cap Just Changed the Math.
The bigger change is how those loans get paid back. Any Parent PLUS loan taken out on or after July 1, 2026 has one repayment plan: a fixed standard plan over 10 to 25 years. No income-driven option, and these loans don’t count toward Public Service Loan Forgiveness.
If you have more than one kid, read this part twice. If you’re already repaying Parent PLUS loans and you borrow one new Parent PLUS dollar on or after July 1, 2026, all of your Parent PLUS loans move onto that new standard plan, including ones you consolidated to keep an income-driven option. I’m not a financial advisor, so if this is your family, call your loan servicer before you borrow anything new.
The takeaway isn’t panic. It’s this: the best way to deal with a loan is to need a smaller one.
Merit aid comes from the list, not the scholarship hunt
Merit aid is money a college gives your kid because the college wants your kid. It isn’t something you win at midnight in an essay contest. It’s a school saying, “We’d love to have you, and we’ll pay to make it happen.”
That’s why merit comes from applying to the right schools, not more scholarships. Schools where your kid sits in the middle of the admitted class don’t need to compete for them. Schools where your kid would be one of the strongest admits often do.
How to find colleges that give merit aid to students like yours
You can do a first pass yourself in about twenty minutes per school:
- See where your kid lands. Colleges publish the grades and test scores of admitted students, often on an admissions profile page or in their Common Data Set (search the school name plus “Common Data Set,” section C). Top quarter of that range? Pay attention.
- Find the merit page. Some schools consider every admitted student automatically. Others want a separate application or an earlier date. Know which before March.
- Ask. “What percentage of students receive merit aid, and what’s the typical award?” is a completely fair question. The Common Data Set’s section H shows how many students without financial need received scholarship money from the school, and the average amount.
Want this kind of thing one step at a time instead of all at once at 2 a.m.? My free weekly newsletter walks parents through what matters, week by week. Sign up here.
Financial fit is one of three
Every school on the list should pass three fits: academic (challenged without drowning), social (they can picture a regular Tuesday there and be happy) and financial (you can pay for it without wincing). Three out of three, it stays. One no, it comes off.
Most families skip financial fit until April. That’s how a kid falls in love with a school that doesn’t work. Saying “let’s not apply there” in October is so much kinder than saying no to an acceptance letter in the spring.
Three money myths that cost families real dollars
- “We make too much, so we’ll skip the FAFSA.” Merit isn’t based on income. Some colleges ask for the FAFSA before considering students for certain aid, and you need it for a Parent PLUS loan.
- “The sticker price is the price.” It rarely is. Compare net price, what you’d actually pay, never sticker price.
- “Outside scholarships will cover it.” They’re a nice bonus, but most are small and one-time. Institutional merit is often bigger and often renewable.
What to do this month, by grade
Seniors: Decide your number, what you can pay each year and how much you’re willing to borrow. Run the net price calculator for every school on the list (every college has one). Compare. If a school is way over and merit can’t realistically close the gap, have the honest conversation now. Drop the school, not the picture. And when offers arrive, ask: Is it renewable all four years? What does it take to keep it? Does it stack with need-based aid? Does it cover tuition only?
Juniors: Build financial fit in from day one. Run the net price calculator when a school goes on the list, before anyone falls in love. Make sure at least two schools are ones you can afford without wincing.
Freshmen and sophomores: Merit follows the transcript, so steady study habits are your best financial move right now. And have one honest, low-key money conversation this year, so money is never a surprise later.
The bottom line
Borrowing is the last tool, not the first. The first tool is the list: schools that want your kid, schools that pass all three fits, and a family that talks about money early.
If you’d like someone in your corner for this, that’s what we do inside the College-Bound Parent Collective: guidance on what matters right now for your kid’s grade, tools to run the numbers school by school, and someone to ask when the numbers get scary.
