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The FAFSA’s Student Aid Index gets a lot of attention, but net cost is what you should pay attention to.
Highlights
What is and isn’t an asset on the FAFSA? Here’s a quick “is it or isn’t it?” for you.
We’re almost there: acceptance letters are arriving and the May 1 decision day is right around the corner. For most families, how much schools cost is part of the decision making process.
Happy 2023! Last year I made a New Year’s Resolution and kept it. That makes me a self-appointed expert on New Year’s resolutions. Here are some resolutions for parents planning for college— and my expert advice on how to keep your resolutions.
Parent assets seem to be the area that most families and planners focus on, despite the fact that they typically have the smallest impact on the formula of each of the components. Strategies and tactics to minimize parent assets abound, but for most families these result more in nibbling around the edges than actually making a significant dent in SAI.
The College Board’s annual Trends in College Pricing and Student Aid report was released recently. Among the headline findings: college tuition prices increased at extremely low rates for the second year in a row, reflecting both a combination of continued impacts of the pandemic and enrollment pressures from demographic trends.
Filing the FAFSA raises tons of questions for divorced parents. Here are some answers.
Happy FAFSA Day! Are you completing the FAFSA for the first time this year? While you’re waiting for the site to load, here are some resources that will help you get through it with a minimum of chaos and maximum of financial aid.
I think Oregon is one of the last places in the US that starts school after Labor Day so my apologies if you’re no longer in back-to-school mode. Here are some resolutions your family might make for the coming school year. And, here’s hoping they don’t get broken as quickly as the typical New Year’s diet-and-exercise resolutions!
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Required Reading Alert: Borrowing to Attend Your Top Choice College
Thinking it’s worth taking out student loans to go to your first choice college instead of your second choice? Here’s what older Millennials have to say about their student loans.
It’s Graduation Time!
Where does the time go? It seems like just yesterday that they were learning to walk, and now my kids are graduating from college?!?
Student Loan Interest Rates for the 2023-24 School Year
Rising interest rates have resulted in increases in student loan interest rates for the coming year.
Who is on the hook for student loans?
An overview of the three primary types of student loans including insights into which loans don’t require a co-signer.
Student Loans: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
It’s hard to hear the phrase “student debt” without “crisis” appended. But like most types of debt, there is “good” student debt and “bad” student debt. To understand the difference, it’s helpful to look at the economics of a college degree. A college education confers many benefits, but when evaluating debt the economic ones are key.
Taking out a Student Loan
Learn more about what it means to take out a student loans.
Loan Payments in Grace Period
Loan payment strategies to help you reduce your long-term loan balance.
Co-Signing Student Loans
If you’re among the 2/3 of families that will borrow to pay for college, you may be looking at private student loans as one of your options. Unlike federal direct student loans, private student loans typically require a co-signer. It’s vital that parents and others asked to co-sign understand what they are actually doing when co-signing a student loan.
Risks of Income-Based Repayment Plans
Income-based repayment, or IBR, can be a great option for recent college graduates who need some breathing room while getting started in a career. However, there are some real risks to it, especially for those who owe significant loan balances or are in career paths where the salary trajectory is fairly level.
Estimating Post-Graduation Loan Burden
Most teenagers struggle to have the foresight into the burden that student loans will cause. Help your student estimate that burden and the pros and cons of those impacts.
Student Debt Plateaus, but…
A new analysis of the National Postsecondary Aid Study in the New York Times shows that while there is good news– student debt levels are leveling off and perhaps even declining in inflation-adjusted terms– the reason for that is nothing to cheer about.
Manipulation of Student Loan Default Rates
Interest Rates on Student Loans for 2018-2019
If you will be taking out loans to pay for college, you probably want to know what interest rate you’ll be paying. Unfortunately, the rates for the coming school year are not available yet. They’ll be set based on the 10-Year Treasury Note from the last auction before June 1.
What do the University of Alabama, Harvard, Pepperdine and Yale have in common? At least one student from each won a Rhodes Scholarship this year.