Financial Aid

According to the folks at financialaidforcollege Accumulate College Credits Before Going to College In addition to impressing admissions committees, advanced placement courses are also much less expensive than their college counterparts. Many students are able to accumulate an entire semester of credits before graduating high school. That's not bad given the cost of a semester at many private universities and even some public schools for non state residents. Look into Combined Degree Programs Many schools offer combined degree programs that save you time as well as money. These programs consist of completing combined bachelor's and master's degrees or master's and doctorate degrees. Depending on your career interests, these may be worth considering. Explore Ways to Pay the In-State Tuition Rates for Public Colleges Many states, particularly several in the Midwest with declining populations have very short citizen time requirements. If the requirement is only six months...

Here's what PHEAA has to say: Facts on Student Loans Students, families, and borrowers have told us that recent media articles covering our decision to temporarily suspend our lending activities are alarming. Many feel this means PHEAA is no longer involved in providing student loans and funding through the Pennsylvania State Grant and Special Programs. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Here are some basic facts to help you understand. What is happening? PHEAA has decided to temporarily suspend acting as a lender in the Federal Family Educational Loan Program (FFELP). This includes Stafford, Parent PLUS, Graduate PLUS, and Consolidation loans. PHEAA is still committed, as we have been for 44 years, to serve the financial aid needs for Pennsylvanians and other students from around the country. Currently, for the 2007-2008 academic year, over 200 lenders continue to participate in our low-cost KeystoneBEST student loan program and we remain committed to meeting the borrowing n...

College is expensive. Any way you look at it there is a substantial investment reequired on someone's part to get a degree. We've discussed several ways in which to go about paying for college on this site and most of those options require some action and savings program. What if you could help the process along just by living your everyday life? Curious? Of Course! For those of you that haven't heard about it, Upromise is the way that students and parents save for college without putting money away. Here's how it works: Upromise partners with companies like McDonalds and ExxonMobil who reward you for using their services by putting money into an account every time you buy a Big Mac or go get gas. How cool is that? For your free account follow this link.

You hear all this buzz about 529 plans and today I thought that I would take some time and discuss this great savings tool. This plan (named after section 529 of the IRS code) enables you to set aside money on a tax-free basis! Check out the benefits here.

According to Snagajob.com's snagablog, Here are some ideas to ponder as you consider what to do this summer: * Lifeguard. Lifeguards get to hang out in the sun and get a nice summer glow while interacting with the public every day. You can usually expect to receive free admission to the pool when you’re not on duty, and maybe even a couple passes for guests. And you can’t beat a cold ice cream sandwich from the snack bar at the end of your shift. Just make sure to load up on SPF—“lobster red” isn’t a color you want to sport at summer social events this year. * Retail associate. In retail jobs, you can beat the heat in an air conditioned environment, and probably get to see your buddies shopping around as well. You’ll be the first to discover this summer’s latest fashions by taking a peek at merchandise in the stock room before it hits the floor. And the real perk? Most retailers offer an employee discount, so you can stock up on flip-flops and beach cover-ups to wear when y...

According to PHEAA/AES here is the low down on work-study guidelines. Information for Students The State Work-Study Program (SWSP) provides Pennsylvania students with employment opportunities in high-technology and community-service fields. Through SWSP you gain career-related, on-the-job work experience while earning money to help pay for your higher education. You may work up to 40 hours per week during term breaks and the summer and no more than 20 hours per week while classes are in session. To qualify you must: * Be a Pennsylvania resident. * Be enrolled at least half-time (6 – 11 credits) in a PHEAA-approved higher education institution, in a program of study at least two years in length. * Be a State Grant or subsidized federal loan recipient. * Be able to benefit from a career-related work experience in a high-tech or community-service job. * Not owe a State Grant refund or have defaulted on any student loan. You and your employer must complete the SWSP Stud...

This date is one you will want to remember. On July 1st, the interst rates on student loans change and set for the following year. Check out Projectonstudentdebt.org for more information. This could end up saving you lots of time and money!!!

Considering a Cosigner? Private student loans are credit based. That means not only do they require an acceptable credit rating but, in many cases, the better the rating … the lower the interest rate. It’s important to realize, though, that cosigning a loan or asking someone to cosign one for you, makes another person just as accountable to repay that loan as the borrower. As a result, if your cosigner has excellent credit (and you do not), you are likely to benefit from a loan with lower rates and fees. This table shows you how much interest would be paid—based on different loan rates—on a $10,000 loan taken out your freshman year. You take out a $10,000 loan: Interest Rate Capitalized Interest Total Interest Paid 8% $3,267 $12,821.55 10% $4,083 $17,241.43 12% $4,900 $22,186.89 Having a cosigner could save you a lot of money. Cosigner Rights and Responsibilities A cosigner is guaranteeing the debt. That means you (or your parents or spouse, if they are the cosigners) will have to repa...

I found an article in BusinessWeek that talks about the next wave of student financing options. Here's the deal, private individuals are now interested in financing student loans. To me, this seems a bit odd. First off, if giant companies like Sallie Mae and The Pennsylvania Higher Education Assisstance Agency(PHEAA) are sketchy about making non-government backed loans to students then why should individuals be better off in this game? The interesting part is that there hasn't been any data compiled on the student default rate for this type of lending! Let me ask you a question. If you got two $1000 loans, one from a giant corporation who will has the ability to put you into collections, and one from the guy up the street, who are you going to pay first if you only can make one payment? I thought so. This entire way of lending does not, in my opinion, bode well for our econmonic future. It leads the average person, who has little financial training by the way, into thin...

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In earlier posts, we've discussed different types of loans (federal, parent+, and private) and some links and information regarding your FAFSA forms and how to submit them. What happens if the federal loans don't cover your costs? You still need to find a way to pay for school right? Private student lending may be the answer. Basically, a private student loan is a just a loan made by a traditional for-profit lending institution. The terms work roughly the same as the federal loans in that you don't start paying, in most cases, until you have graduated. The interest rates are credit based however and you may not like the rate that you get. This particular type of financial aid should not be first on your list. In fact, I'd use this as a last resort. Despite that, college costs are rising faster than the ability to pay for it and this alternative may mean the difference between your education and you taking "a couple years off" to "save for college...

The US Federal gov't offers a number of programs to help relieve some of the burden of paying for higher education, from Pell grants to Perkins loans. Take a look at some of the options available to you: 1. Pell Grants 2. Federal supplement opportunity grants 3. Work-study programs 4. Perkins loans 5. Stafford loans 6. PLUS loans ... Check Bankrate's website to learn more about these options!!

As I was doing my research for tonight's post it occurred to me that although we've begun to discuss the many ways to pay for college and even some great sites to help you out, we have neglected to provide the entire picture. Below is the text of an article that I found on Howstuffworks.com . A Financial Aid Example As we already explained, need analysis and packaging policies can and do vary from institution to institution. Here is an example of what might happen (where I work) at Duke University : We ask the family to complete and submit the PROFILE and FAFSA no later than February 1. (We require tax forms, but those aren't due until May 1.) We also invite them to submit letters that explain any extenuating circumstances that might affect their family's ability to support educational expenses. At Duke, students are admitted without reference to their need for financial aid. This policy of "need-blind admissions" means that we do not determine an applicant...

Here's a great site when looking for FAFSA forms and other documentation dealing with the aid process. This site is for students and parents and is loaded with unbiased information to help you along the way to securing the money you need to attend the school of your choice. If your interested in saving time this is the site for you.

There are many ways to finance a college education. If you are anything like me, you can plan on taking out loans. Where you go and how much they help you will determine how much. Below I've broken down several options that people use to help pay for college. The truth is, if you want to go badly enough the money is out there. All you have to do is go find it. 1) Scholarships -there are scholarships available with qualifications as simple as being left handed-I actually got that one! The key to scholarships is research and dedication. The more applications you fill out, the better your chances of reducing your loan debt. 2) Loans -the three main options in this area are Student(Stafford or Perkins), Parent(PLUS), and Private(regular bank loans) 3) Savings Plans - the most popular of these programs is the Section 529 plan-compare here Please click here for a more detailed description of these options as well as a few more at Finaid.org . Let me know what you think.

I have a 15 year old daughter and if she doesn't get a scholarship I worry about how to pay for the sky-rocketing cost of a college education. Maybe some of you are sweating it out with me. For years I've told her to do the work and I'll make sure she gets to go to the school of her choice. Well, now I'm worried I won't be able to live up to that promise. In general I'm just worried about my kids future...I don't know what to do. Here are a few things I've been able to uncover: 50 out of our nations 2,500 4-year colleges are taking steps to ensure some students pay less tuition. Schools like Harvard, Stanford, Yale, and Cornell are devising different pay plans depending on a family's income level. Dozens of schools are replacing loan programs with grants, which don't have to be repaid. Comparison shop financial aid offers from school to school. It doesn't hurt to ask if one school will match another's offer. Be aggressive. Here are some w...

Despite the fact that we may be entering a recession, the need for education has never been more apparent. The more skillled you are, the more classes that you take, the more marketable you are and therefore less likely to struggle for a job. Colleges are capitalizing on the growing need for education and raising the prices. According to an AP article posted on MSNBC.com, tuition is up overall 6.6%. This trend is by far outpacing the availability of federal financial aid and its forcing more and more students to borrow. Feel comfortable in the fact you are not alone. Just look at the poll on this page to see just how many find themselves in the same situation. Check out the article at http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21420361/