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Parents of highs chool seniors are getting financial-aid estimates this month, and for many families, the numbers are staggering.

By Mary Jane Smetanka, Star Tribune

Greg DeMarco had filled out the federal financial-aid worksheet a couple of days before. The computer had crunched the numbers, and now DeMarco was steeling himself for the answer. A few clicks of the mouse, and he would see how much the federal government thought he could contribute next year toward his son's college education.

A cousin had warned him that the number would be shocking. And it was.

When DeMarco saw it, he laughed out loud and called to his wife, Ann, in their St. Paul kitchen.

"Guess what they think we can spend? " he said.

The number was staggeringly high -- more than the $36,000 annual cost at the most expensive college on his son Tommy's list.

The DeMarcos aren't rich. He works in publishing, and she's a school psychologist. They're among many middle-class parents who this spring find themselves deep in the sometimes alarming world of college finance.

It's a world where tuition and room-and-board prices seem to have little connection to what average families can pay.

More students than ever before are expected to start college this fall. For those kids and their families, this is the time when the numbers start getting real. Expected family contributions bounce back from the feds; schools calculate how much aid they can give you. March is when students and parents begin to figure out how -- and if -- they're going to pay for the school of their dreams.

Prices have been going steadily up.

In the past decade, tuition and fees at the University of Minnesota and at four-year state universities have increased 112 percent. Tuition and fees at private colleges have gone up an average of 73 percent.

For a Minnesota undergraduate who lives on campus, the cost of attending the U's Twin Cities campus is about $19,300 each year. At Carleton College in Northfield, it's more than $44,000.

When those figures drew incredulous whistles from seniors at Richfield High School who gathered to learn about financial aid, a counselor calmed them by saying that no one writes a check to pay the full price for college.

Actually, a few people do. But, like the DeMarcos, most families rely on a combination of sources to pay for college.

Wary of debt

Tommy DeMarco has narrowed his college choices from six to two: the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul and the U's Twin Cities campus.

Both offered him scholarships, which narrowed the difference in cost to about $7,000 a year. That has made his decision harder. He had been leaning toward private schools until the U offered him a scholarship.

Tommy is an award-winning student, musician and athlete at Cretin-Derham Hall High School. He was thrilled to be admitted to the U's Carlson School of Management, which has a high and rising reputation among business schools. But he's intrigued by St. Thomas' global studies and peace-and-justice programs.

Money is a big part of his deliberations, though he and his parents say it will not be the determining factor. The DeMarcos are savers. But much of their educational savings has gone to parochial schools for Tommy and his brother. They'll pay for college with a combination of savings, scholarships, work study and, reluctantly, loans.

Tommy is wary of debt. The DeMarcos rejected one college because it did not offer a scholarship. But after he and his parents pay what they can, they estimate that he may owe $10,000 to $20,000 in student loans by the time he graduates.

He doesn't like that.

"It seems like a lot of money to me," he said. "I work all summer and get $1,000. But I guess if you want to go to college, that's what you do. "

First step: Fill out your FAFSA

The DeMarcos' college calculations started on their home computer with the FAFSA, which is short for Free Application for Federal Student Aid. It's the foundation of the financial aid system, a way for federal and state government as well as colleges to gauge how much financial help students need.

Greg DeMarco had to answer questions about income, taxes, investments, savings, and non-financial questions such as how much education he and his wife had and other family characteristics. Critics say the four-page FAFSA is longer and more complicated than the federal tax form and intimidates low-income families.

"It's difficult to fill out and difficult to understand the value of filling it out," said Jim McCorkell, chief executive officer of Admission Possible, a St. Paul nonprofit that helps gifted low-income high school students apply for college. "You're exposing a lot of private information to others. "

Meghan Flores, associate director of financial aid at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, said many people agree that the FAFSA doesn't give a realistic figure for what families can afford to pay. But it does give colleges, loan officers and scholarship agencies a uniform way to gauge a family's financial strength.

"File the FAFSA," she said. "It's free. All it costs you is your time. You're not required to take out loans or work on campus, but it gives you options. "

In reality, few families pay the expected family contribution that FAFSA spits back. Many colleges discount tuition. Federal Pell grants help students at the lowest income levels. Minnesota has a state grant program, a state loan program and a state work-study program, as well as child-care aid for student parents. There are all kinds of scholarships. And colleges like Augsburg adjust aid for families if there are extenuating circumstances.

At Richfield High School, counselors give seniors a 40-page booklet listing scholarships and how to apply for them. It warns students about deadlines and scams and has information on everything from national programs, like the Gates Millennium Scholars, to local ones, like the $2,000 Ruth E. Johnson Memorial Scholarship for graduates of Richfield schools.

Debt vs. the dream

Sometimes financial aid can tip a school choice one way or another. In the case of Richfield senior Jennifer VonFelden, it's made her college decision incredibly difficult.

Jen, a straight-A student, has applied for scholarships and knows the value of a dollar. Last year, she paid for a school trip to France mostly through part-time work at Herberger's. Aiming for a big research campus, she applied to just two schools: the U of M Twin Cities and the University of Wisconsin Madison.

She got into both. But only one offered her money.

The U has offered her a scholarship that totals $24,000 over four years. But Madison -- her dream school -- offered nothing.

The first time she stepped on the Wisconsin campus she saw herself as a student there. If she chooses Madison, she would have to finance her education mostly through loans. Taking on "a ton of debt" scares her.

The U has been calling her since last summer, inviting her to receptions and to make an official visit. Jen always has an excuse -- she's working, she's busy. She finally admitted that she's afraid to make an official visit. She might like it.

"I feel selfish, wanting to go to Madison," Jen said. "I have a great opportunity at the U, but I want the other. I'm afraid a visit to the U might mix things up even more.

"Sometimes I wish I could go back and never open that [U scholarship] letter. The choice would have been easier. "

Mary Jane Smetanka • 612-673-7380 • smetan@startribune. com

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