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The new Simplified FAFSA is here! Here’s a quick video with some tips that will help you get through it with a minimum of chaos and maximum of financial aid. 🔗
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Rhodes Scholars are announced shortly before Thanksgiving every year. The recipient list serves as a reminder that plenty of colleges do an excellent job of preparing students to compete at the very highest levels.
News headlines to the contrary, college has become more— not less— affordable over the past several decades.
Getting the most out of your college experience is more about the experience than the college. In fact, research has shown that six specific college experiences translate to long-term well-being.
How do you know what a college will cost you? There’s a lot of data out there that can help.
Highlights
Filing the FAFSA and CSS Profile raises tons of questions for divorced parents. Here are some answers.
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 2025! 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.
What is and isn’t an asset on the FAFSA? Here’s a quick “is it or isn’t it?” for you.
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.
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!
Categories
The FAFSA & CSS Profile
Saving for College
Student Loans
Application Process
Miscellaneous
All blog posts
EFC vs Net Cost
Families who are a few years out from college should calculate their EFC, but as college approaches and students start identifying schools they’re interested in, net price calculators become far more valuable.
How America Saves for College - 2018
Insights from Sallie Mae’s 2018 How America Saves for College report.
What to do this Summer
Tips on college application related things that students may want to spend some time on this summer.
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.
Scholarships and Why You Still Need to Save
According to the College Board, about 2/3 of college students receive some form of scholarship or grant. And the NCAA doles out more than $2.9 billion in scholarships annually.
NACAC College Openings Update
Potential Changes to Federal Loan Programs
School Codes on ACT/SAT Registration
Student Loans by School
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.
Series EE and I Bonds
Many parents and grandparents purchase education savings bonds– series EE or series I bonds– to pay for college. These bonds are tax-free within some limits, and it’s not uncommon for families to find out too late that they’ve landed outside the limits.
Do the FAFSA. Really.
More reasons why all families should complete the FAFSA every year.
About All That Mail…
If your mailbox is starting to be overwhelmed with college and related marketing promotions, you can thank the College Board or ACT. More on that…
Applying to colleges this year? Here’s a last-minute checklist to make sure you end up with good choices.