Myth: College is too expensive.

Not going to lie: it kind of is. But that may be more a function of attending a college that is not a fit.

You’ve come this far and you’re wondering why I brought you here just to tell you that you can’t afford college. First, I didn’t say that. I said college is too expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. And while I am using some subliminal messaging to encourage you to get a part-time job that builds character, you don’t have to do that to pay for college either.

You’ve come this far and you’re wondering why I brought you here just to tell you that you can’t afford college. First, I didn’t say that. I said college is too expensive. But it doesn’t have to be. And while I am using some subliminal messaging to encourage you to get a part-time job that builds character, you don’t have to do that to pay for college either.

I do need to give you a disclaimer: you will not agree with what colleges say is your financial need. Part of that is because you think you need more than you do. You will have to pay something to go to college but that “something” shouldn’t be debilitating. Think belt, not corset.

Here’s another important note: no one pays the sticker price. And another note: the cheaper the sticker price, the more likely they will not have aid AND the higher likelihood that you will not graduate in four years. That brings me to another myth—norm time—that I’ll get to in another Myth Busters.

Here’s what all of that means. The more expensive the college tuition is, the more money they have to give. Your job is to make sure you are applying to schools that will give you money and in a way that they know to give it to you.

Most of those really selective campuses fund nearly everyone with something and a majority of students receive a majority of funding.

Then you have low-brand ID colleges that are high-performing. They give nearly everyone all the money they need. Problem is because they have low-brand ID, you probably haven’t heard of them. We can solve for that.

But then there are campuses that very openly state they will not fund anyone. We appreciate their honesty and we will move on. Unfortunately, some of these campuses are public. So the private university with the large sticker price that no one pays ends up being cheaper than the public university that doesn’t fund and takes six or more years to graduate from.

Now, if only you knew which was what. We can help.