10 ways to land more college financial aid

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

When most high school students start looking at colleges, they think about what the college offers in terms of academics and extracurriculars. But when the financial aid packages from schools come in the mail this spring, the final decision will likely be made with dollars and cents in mind.

"A good financial aid package is as important as the major, course of study and geographic location," says Bob Friedman, the university director of student finance at Yeshiva University in New York. "It comes at the end of the search, and it's absolutely a top concern."

Though financial aid officers have some latitude in how much they can offer students, don't expect that securing a better aid package will be as easy as snaring a deal on a vacation or a flat-screen TV, says Marty Carney, DeLand, Fla.-based Stetson University's director of financial aid.

"Don't come in with the expectation that financial aid offices are in the business of negotiating like used-car salesmen," he says. "In many cases, schools don't negotiate financial aid awards."

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Stimulus gives students financial boost

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

A jump-start for the economy means a helping hand for many new college students entering the 2009-10 school year.

Thanks to the recent passage of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, students from both low- and middle-income households will receive increased financial help this year.

However, the financial breaks won't last forever. One major problem with the stimulus bill is that the changes are temporary, says Lauren Asher, director of the Berkley, Calif.-based student finance think tank The Project on Student Debt.

What will happen in future years remains uncertain, Asher says. But she hopes the bill will provide a springboard for further boosts in federal financial aid.
"Students need access to even more need-based aid," she says. "But hopefully this (bill) will help families continue to invest in education so when the economy does bounce back, they're well-positioned to benefit instead of go deeper in the hole."

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How to Stay on RIght Track Financially

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

As we slowly approach the end of this coming semester we must start planning for next upcoming year. Many times parents send their children away and don't provide them with the knowledge and tools in order to form the right financial plan. So we don't lose our minds financially we must consider a few options in order to live good in college. First you want to get some estimates of your possible expenses so you could guess about how much money you will need. The more time you have spent in college, the easier it will be to start the estimate process because you will already have a sense of what how much you spend. If you plan on getting a job or have one already set a standard amount of hours you will work in order to make a set amount of money weekly. If you sense that you spending habits will get out of control try to work more hours in order to support your habit. Secondly if needed get a credit card or set aside an account strictly for emergency just in case money isn't coming in. Many people don't realize how quick something negative could change everything. And lastly get a timetable to figure out exactly when during every month you will need to pay certain bills.

http://money.cnn.com/2003/08/01/pf/college/school_moneytrouble/index.htm

http://money.cnn.com/2002/12/10/commentary/everyday/sahadi/index.htm

http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/sav/20000814b.asp

How to Pay for Your Degree

By Alcides Hoy Jr.

You've been waiting for this moment for nearly 18 years: Your baby is almost ready for college. Your finances, not so much. The market's protracted free fall means that your college fund is now worth just a fraction of what you need. Your home's value has no doubt dropped sharply too - no help there. The only thing that keeps going up, you guessed it, is college tuition. So it's goodbye, Dream School U., hello, Central State, right?

Wrong. While there's no denying times are tough, you have more options to help pay for that BA than you think. From targeting the right schools to taking advantage of new financial aid rules and tax breaks, you can get the price to a manageable level. These steps will ensure your kid ends up at a great school you can really afford.

1. Use your savings strategically

The typical 529 college savings plan of a high school junior or senior has dropped 12.5% in value over the past year. And if you didn't invest in an age-based portfolio that automatically shifted into safer investments as your child got older, your losses may be far worse. The big question before you: Should you try to hold off withdrawing money from the account to give your savings time to bounce back?

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Getting a Scholarship

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

One of the most important aspects of financing a college education is applying for scholarships. All scholarships are potentially free money to go towards your education, so you should apply for as many as you can.

There are many simple guidelines you should follow in order to receive the highest amount of your college expenses through scholarships as possible. The first step is to prepare for the application process. To do this, try to be involved in different clubs and organizations, in and out of school. Many times, ‘well-rounded’ students are the ones who are likely to receive scholarships. In addition to this, many clubs and organizations have their own scholarships that they are associated with.

Another step you should take to be prepared is to do some research. There are many different ways to research scholarships, including consulting the financial aid office at your school, contacting your academic department, and using a free scholarship engine. You should also consider unique circumstances in your life, such as being a foster child or having divorced parents, so that you can gauge what specialty scholarships you can apply for. Regardless of this, never assume that you won’t get a scholarship because someone else is probably more qualified. Applying never hurts!

The most important step of the process is actually applying for the scholarships. An important thing to keep in mind is that millions of scholarships go unused every year because students simply do not apply for them. Some other things to remember are that you should always write an essay; many students won’t apply for these scholarships because they are too lazy to do so! Also, apply early and try for smaller scholarships too. A big scholarship seems more appealing, but getting numerous, smaller scholarships can also add up. You may also want to keep a calendar with application deadlines so you don’t miss any of them.

Sources:

http://www.nasfaa.org/publications/2008/anscholarships070208.html

https://www.ecampustours.com/payingforcollege/scholarshipsandgrants/stepsforgettingascholarship.htm

http://www.multiculturaladvantage.com/opportunity/scholarships/read/How-Anyone-Can-Get-Scholarship-Money-For-College.asp

Is College Worth The Cost

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

Everybody when they hear the name of this post they ask Is This Writer Crazy? No Not at all. Sometimes we all think about the positives of college but we don't even realize if the money we invest is even worth it. Syracuse University next school year is going to be approximately 50,000 US dollars and at the year we have to ask ourselves are we getting the same education as a student in a 20,000 US dollar institution? Possibly. Everything financially seems to unbalanced when we look at how the salaries decrease but the price of college increases. In actually its as if we are paying for the name of school rather than the knowledge provided inside of those multimillion dollar buildings. In a recent chart produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, you will see how college has increased drastically higher than living necessities such as medical and energy. At the end of the day we have to ask ourselves are we receiving in return what we pay for college?

http://money.cnn.com/2008/08/20/pf/college/college_price.moneymag/index.htm

http://archives.chicagotribune.com/2008/oct/14/business/chi-college-costs-14-oct14

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0327/039.html

6 Ways to Get Free Cash for College

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

It sounds like just a new twist on the all-too common Nigerian scams or Madoff-style Wall Street bait-and-switch. But it's true: Some states, businesses, and colleges are really handing out free cash to help build up parents' college savings accounts.

There are a few catches, of course. Nobody should sign up for anything that sounds suspiciously good without doing a little homework. And most of the grants and rebates are comparatively modest: The typical family might reap a few hundred dollars. Few parents will get enough free cash to make up for the average 20-plus percent decline in 529 college savings plans over the past year. (Tax-protected education savings accounts are called 529s after the part of the Internal Revenue Service code that created them.)

Still, those who collect the grants when their children are young or who are diligent about maximizing rebates could generate several extra thousand dollars.

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Secret Expenses Thats What They Are

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

NEW YORK (Fortune) -- My Rolls-Royce is a lot more expensive than your Buick. A pint of Ben & Jerry's costs double the A&P generic brand. That makes sense. But when it comes to college tuition, the difference between the Harvards and the Podunks is not nearly so great.

Yale will charge $36,500 next year. Harvard, MIT, and Pomona are in the same ballpark, as you would expect. Yet so are the University of Richmond, Bucknell, and Kenyon. Due respect to those good schools, but they don't offer the same level of faculty, facilities, or cachet. Moreover, a range of lower-ranking schools, including Allegheny and Manhattanville, charge $30,000 or more.

Yes, you can get a fine education at hundreds of American colleges; not every Nobel laureate or Fortune 500 CEO graduated from Stanford or Amherst. But nobody would seriously argue that a degree from a middling university confers the same benefits as an Ivy League school or comparable elite. So how do they get away with charging practically the same price?

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Its Almost Time for Graduation Do you Know Where Your Job Is?

By: Alcides Hoy Jr.

For many seniors graduation is approaching and many of you seemed puzzled in your job search. I spoke to one senior the other day and he told me he hasn’t received any job offers. Things like this hurt many of us who work so hard in college and then get let down by the real world. Everyone wants to know where the jobs are but are afraid to make that move if necessary. And YES, I’m talking bout THE MOVE. In some cases your city will not be the place where the jobs are so you might need to relocate. Don’t be afraid to make the move because it could work out best in your favor. I can definitely tell you that right now cities like Detroit and Fresno are not the place to be while they have recorded a thirteen percent jobless rate. You don’t have to be a mathematician to figure out how bad of a jobless percentage that is. One option for some who don’t mind traveling overseas would be to step into the Indian and Chinese job market where many of graduates with proper credentials are starting off around 125,000 US dollars. This is more than many of us can say within the US. Or for those who choose to stay local you might want to seek cities such as New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C.

Indian Job Market

CNN MONEY

CAMPUS BUZZ

Getting Help Paying Off Student Debt

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

One of the most important loans an individual will ever receive is a student loan. Through student loans, college students are able to attend universities around the world, preparing for a career and successful life. Without student loans, many students would never have the option to attend college. Scholarships are only available to a small number of college students and the cost of a college education is increasing dramatically every year. Unfortunately, many students take on debt before they have the necessary knowledge to make wise financial decisions. Fortunately, there is help available to keep student debts manageable.

College is the most expensive period of time in most students' lives. As of late 2007, the total cost of a year of college, including room and board, was over $32,000 in private universities and nearly $14,000 in public schools. This was a 6.3% increase from the prior year, and costs are expected to keep rising. Most students and their families are not in a position to pay this expense out of pocket. One way to keep student loans manageable is to be aware of scholarship and grant opportunities that a student might qualify for. Reducing the expense to the student is a great way to keep debt from becoming a problem later in life.

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Financial Fit

By Alcides Hoy Jr.

This video will give us a better knowledge of finanical fitting when it comes to applying for graduate school or to help our following generations with undergraduate enrollment.

The Best Way to Pay Off Student Loans

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

There are a number of ways that students can go about trying to pay for college, including applying for scholarships and financial aid. However, when more money is still needed, many students turn to student loans. In fact, it’s not unusual for a college student to graduate owing up to $150,000 in personal student loans.

Once a student graduates from college, it is important for them to start responsibly managing all of the loans that they acquired over the past four or more years. The biggest complication in doing this is that with an increased cost of living and numerous taxes, many people do not have enough money to pay off their student loans, in addition to important future savings, such as saving for retirement. If this situation occurs, you ultimately have three options that you can make. First, you could pay off your student loans now and save for other things, such as retirement, later on. Second, you could start investing in your future now, and make only the minimum payments allowed on your student loans, meaning that they would cost even more in the long run. Or finally, you could find a balance of being able to pay off your student loans in a timely fashion, but also be able to save some money for your future plans.

For many, the best decision would be the third choice, to find a combination of paying for both. However, the ability to do this depends on your amount of capital available and other needs you may have for it at the time. The correct answer is to really just sort through your priorities and calculate what the difference between the three choices would be for your current situation, and then do what is the best financial decision for you!

Sources:

http://www.youngmoney.com/show?print_article.1343

http://www.usnews.com/articles/business/paying-for-college/2008/04/09/look-twice-at-loan-advice.html

http://www.nextstudent.com/articles/student-loan-articles.asp

The 4 Rules of Paying for College in a Recession

Post By: Dana Sunderlin

Luckily, we've put together advice from financial aid experts—including lots of parents who managed to pay tuition without going bankrupt. A basic primer to financial aid can be found here.

While every student and family is unique, there are four principles that apply to everybody:

1. Grades matter more than ever. The better the student, the more college options the student will have and the more likely it is the student will receive scholarships or win admission to a low-cost school. Students in states such as Georgia, Tennessee, New Mexico, and Florida, with grade-based scholarships, particularly stand to benefit. Parents wanting to motivate their sophomores and juniors can direct them to college websites such as this one, this one, or here. Each of these sites clearly shows the reality that the better the grades and test scores, the bigger the scholarship. Spend a few extra hours studying, bring your grade point average up a point or two, and it could pay off in tens of thousands of dollars.

2. Early birds will get more scholarship worms . Next fall's high school seniors need to start applying for scholarships AND admission to low-cost schools in the early autumn—before November 30. And they need to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid as soon as possible each January, because some aid is handed out on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Colleges Cutting Costs

Posted By:Asim Mohammed

With the economy in a recession, even universities are trying to find ways to cut costs. Financial aid officials at Miami University in Ohio estimate that roughly 1,100 scholarships may be cut back next year, the result of a 25 percent reduction in funds. The school says that students who have already received scholarships will continue to receive their aid but for those students who have not received anything, it will be harder for them to find grants, etc. At the University of Arizona, nursing students will expect a $2,000 fee increase next year. This will raise tuition for instate students to $7,700, almost doubling the cost. A small reduction in library hours at the University of Connecticut, although minimal will affect students and at the same time save the university around $40,000. At the University of Virginia they are planning to shut down they’re public computer labs by 2011 in order to cut budget. University officials, after conducted survey’s last fall, said that since students bring their own laptops to campus the usage of the computer labs have been reduced dramatically. Not only are students and families being affected personally through the recession, but large institutions are also feeling the affects.

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/03/20/miami-university-might-reduce-1100-scholarships.html

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/03/25/uva-eliminating-public-computer-labs.html

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/paper-trail/2009/03/12/2000-extra-fee-for-arizona-nursing-students.html

Ease the tuition squeeze

By: Asim Mohammed

Magazine) -- You've been waiting for this moment for nearly 18 years: Your baby is almost ready for college. Your finances, not so much. The market's protracted free fall means that your college fund is now worth just a fraction of what you need. Your home's value has no doubt dropped sharply too - no help there. The only thing that keeps going up, you guessed it, is college tuition. So it's goodbye, Dream School U., hello, Central State, right?

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More Cash, More Confusion

Posted by: Asim Mohammed


The economic stimulus plan President Barack Obama signed today creates yet another new tax break for college: The American Opportunity Education Tax credit. Even if your family hasn't qualified for earlier college tax credits, this one might provide you with thousands of extra dollars.


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5-minute guide to saving for college

Posted By: Asim Mohammed

By 2020, you'll need an estimated (and heart-stopping) $225,000 to put Junior through a private college or $105,000 for a public university.

Conventional wisdom says the sooner you start saving, the more funds you'll accumulate. (See "How to afford a Harvard education.")

No one savings method is perfect for every family. Consider your tax bracket, your child's age, how much control you want over your investments and how much financial aid you expect to get.

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Guide to College Cost

Posted by Shu Zheng

Paying for college? It might feel like there's a vacuum hooked up to your bank account. But these two dozen tips can ease some of the pocketbook pain.Before you do anything else, apply for financial aid. Even if you think your family earns too much to qualify, send in the forms.

Then try these tips:

Pick up credits where you can
-The more credits you can bring with you, the less money you'll pay to a four-year university.

Paying for the basics: Eating and sleeping

Textbooks: Read 'em and weep

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