💰
Grants, Loans & FAFSA
Free money first, borrowed money last — and how to tell them apart.
▶️
Grants, Loans and FAFSA breaks down how to pay for college: grants and scholarships you never repay, federal loans with protections, and private loans you should treat as a last resort.
Kid Tapp™ overview episode
The money order of operations
- 1) Grants (Pell, state, institutional) — free money, never repaid.
- 2) Scholarships — free money you apply for; apply to many small ones, not just the giant ones.
- 3) Work-study and part-time work — earn while enrolled.
- 4) Federal student loans — fixed rate, income-driven repayment, forgiveness options.
- 5) Private loans — last resort, no federal protections.
FAFSA, plainly
- Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It's free — never pay a site to file it.
- File every single year you're enrolled, starting Oct 1.
- It decides Pell Grants, work-study, and how much federal loan you can take.
- Your award letter is negotiable: appeal in writing if your family's income changed.
Subsidized vs unsubsidized
- Subsidized: the government pays the interest while you're in school. Take these first.
- Unsubsidized: interest grows from day one — pay the interest during school if you can.
- Borrow less than your expected first-year salary, total, across all four years.
🎬 Episode: $10,000 at 6.5% for 10 Years
See what a loan really costs before you sign it.
- Borrow $10,000 at 6.5% on a 10-year plan.
- Monthly payment ≈ $114.
- Total paid ≈ $13,640 — about $3,640 in interest.
- Borrow $40,000 the same way and you repay roughly $54,500. That's a car.
⏱️ Timed Challenge
4 questions · 60 seconds · beat your score.
Keep going — I'm proud of you. 💪