If you’ve been reading this for a while, you probably know I’m a huge fan of College Navigator as an information source. It’s run by the National Center for Education Statistics and has some information that any prospective student should be aware of.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has a nifty tool for comparing school costs or financial aid offers, here. As you get acceptance and financial aid offers, enter them into the site to get apples-to-apples comparisons of what you’ll pay and what you will owe upon graduation.

A financial aid package often includes work-study as one component. Typically the package includes a dollar sum of work-study income to be used for education costs.

Outside scholarships are those that come from someone other than the federal government or your school. Examples include National Merit Scholarships, scholarships from you or your parents’ employers, or from other civic institutions.

Refresher post on the three aid formulas: 1. Federal methodology (FM), based on the FAFSA; 2. Institutional Methodology (IM), based on the CSS PROFILE; and 3. Consensus Methodology (CM), which uses both aid forms. Each aid formula has a different way of calculating a family’s financial strength with respect to ability to pay for college.

I’ve probably said this before, but there are families staring down tuition payments for the first time right around now. Most families use a combination of savings, cash flow and borrowing to pay for college.

On Wednesday the Fed raised short-term interest rates by 0.25%, with additional rate hikes expected over the course of the year. What does this mean for student loans? Several things.

As summer club sports season transitions to fall high school sports season, so too does the talk turn to athletic scholarships. Here’s a little known fact: Other than football and basketball, many– perhaps more– student athletes attend college on academic scholarships rather than athletic ones. So even the most successful athletes should make school their focus.

Link to an insightful NY Times article.

A three pronged strategy to review financial aid offers by a college counselor Julia Surtshin to ensure you make an informed evaluation of offers.

I know, I’ve been harping on the FAFSA lately. (Did you fill it out yet? If not, go here to do so.) For those who still have some time before applying to schools, let’s switch gears and talk about where aid comes from.