- [Jamie] For many high school seniors and their parents, looking at the cost of college can trigger instant panic, commonly known as sticker shock.

But experts warn, don't confuse that number with what you'll actually pay out of pocket.

- For years, it's been widely known that in general, both students and parents over-inflate the actual net price of college attendance.

And that's very, very problematic, not just to young adults and their career dreams and what might come of their entire lives and careers based on that perception.

- [Jamie] Dan Hurley leads the Michigan Association of State Universities.

He says the average net price at Michigan's public campuses is about half the advertised rate.

But CMU Financial Aid Director Sarah Kasabian-Larson says students and parents need to do their homework and budget for expenses beyond tuition.

- Typically, you'll see it through the cost of attendance.

So if you were to just go on our website, search that, you'll see an outline of what it typically would cost to go to school.

But the cost of attendance is not the actual cost to attend CMU or another school.

It is the financial aid budget.

You can kind of think of it as an umbrella.

We can't allow financial aid to go above and beyond that umbrella.

And so it is a guideline to help us with the awarding and maximizing aid for a student.

So ,when a student wants to figure out what their actual cost is, don't look necessarily at the cost of attendance or the sticker price.

You want to actually look at the charges that you have minus your financial aid.

- [Jamie] That means early financial literacy is critical.

- Living off campus sometimes is more expensive than living on campus.

And so understanding the choices that you make can make it more expensive to be here.

And so if we can sit down, budget, plan for the future, we can really fill those gaps.

- So, where should prospective students even begin?

Financial aid experts across the board agree.

File the FAFSA.

That's the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

The online form is now streamlined and it securely pulls tax information directly from the IRS.

It opens each year on or around October 1st.

Advisors urge families to submit as early as possible in order to best benefit from institutional, state, and federal dollars.

- If you are able to file as soon as it opens each year, then you can maximize your aid.

- [Jamie] Filing early unlocks a growing number of state programs, like the Michigan Achievement Scholarship, which provides up to $5,500 a year for eligible high school graduates.

Michigan Reconnect offers tuition-free community college for adults 21 and up.

And high schoolers have opportunities to bank credits before paying a cent of college tuition.

- And so now there is a lot of students that can take dual enrollment classes in high school, and when they enter as a freshman into a community college or a public university, they can do so with a lot of credits that will transfer and alleviate the number of courses and credits they need to take at the post-secondary level.

And that certainly will save some dollars as well.

- [Jamie] Tracking down local scholarships can provide some critical cash.

- Your community foundation most definitely has scholarships available.

I have heard from multiple community foundation scholarships that sometimes they have money that just sits there and doesn't go awarded.

And so just knowing where to go to look and find this information will then equip you to take those next steps with the application process.

- [Jamie] Universities are facing new challenges as well.

State fiscal reports show Michigan's public institutions are facing severe budget restraints.

Universities are also dealing with a number of issues impacting enrollment.

- There's essentially two streams of revenues into universities.

One is state funding for operation support and the other one is tuition.

And when the state doesn't do its part, they're essentially shifting the cost to students and families.

The nation's largest high school graduating class was in the Spring of 2025, simply last year.

And there's all the discussion about the enrollment cliff is here.

The enrollment cliff in Michigan started 19 years ago in 2007.

And so there's been fewer and fewer high school graduates.

And so that has been a challenge.

Obviously, fewer tuition-paying students.

- [Jamie] Plus, recent visa restrictions have cut into international student enrollment, another crucial revenue stream.

- We have historically been a top 10 state in international enrollment and that provides so much value.

All things international, students, researchers, professors is being significantly negatively impacted, and that will have a fiscal impact on the universities.

And not just the large ones, but all of the universities could see significant impacts there.

- [Jamie] While administrators manage monetary issues of their own, recent graduates are navigating their own financial challenges.

After earning her social work degree at Central Michigan University last Spring, Jackie Salladay is balancing her master's at Saginaw Valley with a full-time job and weekend shifts.

- So I pay one and then I use loan money for the next one.

And then I pay one and then loan money for the next one.

Just trying to keep that going so I can not have $50,000 in debt when I'm done.

I'd say it's exhausting and a lot of pressure.

- [Jamie] Financial aid directors say families don't have to navigate the cost of college on their own and recommend leaning on your campus financial aid office for help.

- They can do a virtual appointment, they can do a phone call, they can do an actual appointment, and they are there to help students through all aspects.

They can work through budgeting, they can talk about financial aid, and maybe if there's any missing documents that are causing delays in aid being paid out to a student, they can work through payment plans or coming up with a plan for a student where they're using the different resources that are available to help cover that out-of-pocket costs.

- [Jamie] And while the financial stress today may feel like a difficult hill to climb, advocates maintain, over a lifetime, the degree is worth the sacrifice.

- The return on investment for a Michigan Public University degree over a 40-year career is now over $2 million, and that is inclusive of the cost of attending all of our Michigan public universities.

That is a profound return on investment.