College funding is one of the biggest financial decisions your family will ever make. And most families leave tens of thousands of dollars on the table because they didn’t know the rules of the game.

They file the FAFSA late. They skip the CSS Profile. They don’t realize that their school list directly affects how much scholarship money they’ll receive. And when the award letters come in, they accept the first number without realizing they can negotiate.

One of our families, Julie, used our negotiation framework and secured an additional $56,000 in scholarships. The conversation took less than a week. The money lasted four years.

This free cheat sheet covers everything: the two types of college funding, when to file what, how to compare award letters, and how to ask for more. Print it out and put it on your fridge.