Their Next Chapter is a site for parents and teens working out what comes after high school. If you're new here, start with how it works.
The money question, kept in its place
Money is real, and it belongs in this decision. Give it its full weight without letting it make the choice for your teen.
The short version
The sticker price often isn't what a family pays. A college's net price calculator estimates yours.
Neither the cheapest nor the priciest path is automatically right. Rule paths in or out on real net prices, then let fit decide.
File the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) even if you're sure you won't qualify, and never pay anyone to file it.
For borrowing, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers a rough guideline: no more in total than your teen expects to earn in their first year of work.
Within your family's limits, the decision is still your teen's. Say once, plainly, what you can put toward next year.
Money is one factor, not the decider
When a teen is stuck, cost tends to take over the conversation. It's concrete and worrying, and it's easier to argue about than the harder question of what they actually want to do. For a teen who's already anxious, a scary price tag can become the reason to stop thinking. So treat money as a constraint to plan around, the way you'd plan around time and distance, and not as the measure of whether a path is any good.
Cost also runs in different directions depending on the path, which is easy to forget when college sticker prices get most of the attention. A four-year college charges tuition up front. A registered apprenticeship pays from the first day and trains the person on the job, and the Labor Department says it lets people avoid student debt (you can search real programs at apprenticeship.gov). A job brings money in right away. Military service pays and carries education benefits. So "which one is cheaper" depends on the specific program and the specific plan.
The sticker price is not your price
The sticker price is what a college publishes: its listed tuition and fees, before aid. It's the number that can scare families off a path, and often it isn't what they'd end up paying. Your net price is what you'd actually pay once grants and scholarships, which usually don't have to be repaid, come off the top. The two can be far apart, according to the College Board. Community colleges usually cost far less than four-year schools, and a pricier-looking school can end up costing less than a cheaper one.
You don't have to guess at your own number. Colleges that take federal aid and enroll first-time, full-time students are required by law to post a net price calculator on their own websites, so you can get an estimate shaped to your family before anyone applies. For a closer look at a specific major, the government's free College Scorecard shows each school's net price and, for each field of study at that school, typical debt and median earnings a few years after finishing.
Neither the cheapest nor the priciest path is automatically right
It's tempting to let the smallest number win, or to assume the expensive option must be better. Neither holds up. The right path is the one your teen will actually finish and stand behind, and that comes down to fit. A cheaper path they walk away from costs more in the end than a well-chosen one they see through. So use the real net numbers to rule paths in or out on what you can afford, and let fit make the call. Each path page has an "If you change your mind" section with the facts for that path.
The basics, kept short
You don't need to master the aid system to make this decision, but a few things help:
- The FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) at studentaid.gov is how you apply for federal aid at colleges and career schools. Pell Grants can also pay for eligible certificate programs at career and trade schools. File the FAFSA even if you're sure you won't qualify, because some states and many schools use it to decide their own aid, and file early, since some of that aid runs out. Check studentaid.gov for the date it opens each year. Filing is free, so never pay anyone to do it.
- If your teen's parents are divorced, or never married and living apart, the FAFSA asks about the parent who gave more than half of your teen's financial support over the last 12 months. That may not be the parent your teen lives with, and if that parent has remarried, the stepparent's information goes on the form too. If you're not sure which parent it is, studentaid.gov's "Who's My FAFSA Parent?" tool walks you through it.
- Some aid you keep and some you owe. A Pell Grant usually isn't repaid, and its top amount is set each year (check studentaid.gov for this year's). Loans have to be paid back. When borrowing does make sense, federal loans generally come before private ones, because they carry fixed rates and a repayment plan tied to income. Parent PLUS loans made on or after July 1, 2026 can't be repaid under an income-based plan, so check studentaid.gov before a parent borrows. For a teen who starts college or career school on or after July 1, 2026, parent PLUS loans for that teen have a yearly limit and a total limit.
- For a check on borrowing, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers one rough guideline: try not to borrow more in total than your teen expects to earn in their first year of work in the field they're aiming at. It's blunt, and every family's situation is different, but it turns "how much is too much" from a feeling into a number you can look at. Pair it with the earnings figures on College Scorecard for a realistic first pass.
- A 529 plan covers more than a four-year college. Under federal tax rules it can pay tuition and fees at accredited trade and career schools that take federal student aid, and the fees, books, supplies and equipment an apprenticeship registered with the U.S. Department of Labor requires (IRS Publication 970). That's the federal tax rule, and it says nothing about state taxes, so check your plan's own rules before you take money out.
- Scholarships are free to search. Try the Labor Department's CareerOneStop finder and your teen's school counselor. The Federal Trade Commission says never pay to apply for a scholarship, so if someone asks for a fee up front, walk away.
- Tell your teen once, plainly, what the family can put toward next year, whether that's the same whichever path they choose, and what would be theirs to cover.
For help reading an aid offer, a college's financial aid office can walk you through it, and your teen's school counselor can help make sense of it too. You never have to pay for help with federal student aid. For anything that involves large loans or your own retirement and finances, talk with a qualified financial adviser. This chapter is general information to help you find and read the real numbers, not financial advice. Programs, aid rules and figures change, so confirm current details at the official sources linked here.
If you're the teen reading this: a big number on a college website isn't the bill, or a reason to cross something off before you've looked. Get the real net price first. What you'd want to spend your days doing still counts.
What your family can afford sets real limits, and it's worth being honest about them together. Inside those limits, the decision is still your teen's to make and to own. When you're both ready to weigh the paths against what actually fits, you can work through them one step at a time in the tool.
Where these facts come from (26 sources)
Every figure is dated and linked so you can check it at the source. Last reviewed October 2026.
- College Scorecard Glossary, U.S. Dept. of Education (accessed 2026-09-18)
- College Board, Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid 2025 (2025-11)
- U.S. Dept. of Education Dear Colleague Letter GEN-13-07 (net price calculator requirement) (accessed 2026-09-18)
- Federal Student Aid, U.S. Dept. of Education (Apply for Aid / FAFSA) (accessed 2026-09-18)
- U.S. Dept. of Education Dear Colleague Letter, 2026-27 Pell maximum/minimum award amounts (accessed 2026-09-18)
- Federal Student Aid, Top FAQs About Income-Driven Repayment Plans (the Repayment Assistance Plan and parent PLUS loans) (accessed 2026-09-18)
- CareerOneStop Scholarship Finder (U.S. Dept. of Labor) (accessed 2026-09-18)
- Federal Trade Commission, How To Avoid Scholarship and Financial Aid Scams (accessed 2026-09-18)
- Apprenticeship.gov, U.S. Dept. of Labor (accessed 2026-09-18)
- Federal Student Aid, FAFSA Application Deadlines (some aid is limited; several states award aid until funds run out) (2027-28 deadlines; accessed 2026-10-02)
- Federal Student Aid, Eligibility Requirements (an eligible degree or certificate program at a college or career school) (accessed 2026-10-02)
- Federal Student Aid, Federal Pell Grants (2026-27 award year; accessed 2026-10-02)
- Federal Student Aid, Direct PLUS Loans for Parents (the yearly and total limits per student) (accessed 2026-10-03)
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Student Aid Handbook, Application and Verification Guide, Chapter 2 (when parents are divorced or never married and not living together, the FAFSA parent is the one who gave more than 50% of the student's financial support in the last 12 months) (2026-27 award year; accessed 2026-10-05)
- Federal Student Aid, Who's My FAFSA Parent? (a tool that shows which parent fills in the FAFSA) (accessed 2026-10-05)
- Internal Revenue Service, Publication 970 (2025), Tax Benefits for Education, chapter 7, Qualified Tuition Programs (529 plans; federal income tax only) (page last reviewed April 30, 2026; accessed 2026-10-12)
- U.S. Department of Labor, apprenticeship.gov, Career Seekers (a paid job with a wage from day one) (accessed 2026-10-13)
- U.S. Department of Labor, Earn While You Learn Today fact sheet (registered apprenticeships are jobs from day one; most include classroom instruction and let people avoid student debt) (updated March 2025; accessed 2026-10-13)
- Federal Student Aid, Federal Versus Private Loans (start with federal loans; they carry fixed interest rates and income-driven repayment plans) (accessed 2026-10-14)
- 34 CFR 668.8, Eligible program (certificate programs at career schools can be eligible, and a Pell Grant covers undergraduate programs) (accessed 2026-10-14)
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, How much should I borrow in student loans? (accessed 2026-10-14)
- U.S. Department of Education, Financial Aid Toolkit, Types of Aid and Eligibility (many schools will not consider a student for their own aid unless the student files a FAFSA) (no page date; accessed 2026-10-19)
- Federal Student Aid, Types of Financial Aid (a grant does not have to be repaid, with exceptions such as withdrawing from school and owing a refund) (accessed 2026-10-19)
- Federal Student Aid, Finding and Applying for Scholarships (scholarships do not need to be repaid) (accessed 2026-10-19)
- Federal Student Aid, 7 Options if You Didn't Receive Enough Financial Aid (a school's financial aid office is an excellent resource for understanding an aid offer) (no page date; accessed 2026-10-19)
- Federal Student Aid, Avoiding Student Aid Scams (you never have to pay for help with your federal student aid) (no page date; accessed 2026-10-19)