College acceptance letters mean it’s time to figure out how to pay the tuition

Colleges will begin mailing out acceptance letters and financial aid packages.

Families will need to start sorting out how they will pay the tuition -more than $17,000, on average, at an in-state public college.

There is a vast patchwork of grants, scholarships, and loans. Failing to properly compare the options could mean the difference in thousands of dollars in debt upon graduation. Adding to the confusion is a spate of headlines on changes in financial aid. Here’s a look at them:

■Comparing costs. President Obama recently said he wants to make it easier for families to size up the cost of college.

There is no template for financial aid award letters, and officials say the forms can be difficult to decipher, even misleading. For example, schools usually provide a total “out of pocket’’ cost after subtracting grants and scholarships. But some schools also subtract loans, though loans have to be repaid and actually push up the costs because of the interest charges.

Sometimes, interest rates and other loan terms are not spelled out. Officials say this could lead to students taking on more debt than they realize.

So the Department of Education and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau are developing a model financial aid form. There aren’t any plans to make it mandatory. But Congress could require colleges to use it to maintain access to federal aid.

Separately, Obama is pushing for a “college scorecard’’ that would require schools to disclose graduation rates, rates of employment, and debt repayment among graduates.

■Interest rates. Taking out a student loan has become the norm, with two-thirds of graduates leaving campus in debt. But not all loans are alike. So it might have caught your attention when Obama said in his State of the Union address that the fixed interest rates on student loans are set to double in July if Congress fails to act.

Before you panic, keep in mind there are primarily two types of federal student loans: subsidized and unsubsidized. The government doesn’t start charging interest on subsidized loans until the student graduates. With unsubsidized loans, interest starts accruing right away.

Unsubsidized loans currently charge a fixed rate of 6.8 percent. The rate on subsidized loans was gradually lowered to its current fixed rate of 3.4 percent. But the law that temporarily reduced the rate expires in July. Unless Congress extends the reduction, the rate will snap back to 6.8 percent.

Eligibility is based on need, which is determined by a formula on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Private student loans come with entirely different terms. These are widely considered to be an option of last resort since the interest rates tend to be higher and variable, meaning they rise and fall.

Candice Choi writes for the Associated Press.