When my older child, Alex, who identifies as nonbinary, was ready to apply for college in 2022, I felt ill-equipped to help them navigate the process. I was raised in a low-income household and had been unprepared to figure out how to make my own college experience affordable.

I have been a single parent for 17 years and never earned enough income to have to make payments on my student loans, which total $81,000 for two degrees. I assumed I would carry the debt to my grave.

Alex is neurodivergent, so we looked for schools that centered hands-on learning, where they would have a better chance of succeeding. We found the Evergreen State College in Olympia, Wash. The Western Undergraduate Exchange agreement reduced the annual out-of-state tuition costs to $13,000 from $29,000. Even with financial aid, the remaining cost of attendance came to $15,500 per year.

Alex’s financial aid included $5,500 in federal student loans, leaving the rest designated to me in the form of Parent PLUS loans. After filling out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, my expected family contribution was zero. Yet, the school and loan carrier approved me for a debt of $40,000 over four years.