Public Service Loan Forgiveness is a great concept that suffers from terrible implementation. On the surface it sounds straightforward enough: Work 10 years in the public or non-profit sector, make payments on your student loan for those 10 years, and any balance remaining is forgiven.

Getting an estimate of your Expected Family Contribution is really helpful, and it's pretty easy. The Department of Education's unfortunately-named Student Aid Estimator will calculate the FAFSA's EFC for you with a few data inputs; the College Board offers one for the CSS Profile.

Should you find yourself in the fortunate situation of having more 529 dollars available than needed, there are several things you can spend those dollars on that you might not have thought of:

If you’re a financial advisor, it’s hard to go an hour without talking about I Bonds right now. It seems the word is getting out to the general public now too.

A recent survey showed that while almost two-thirds of parents were saving for college, only about one-third are saving in a 529 plan. That’s unfortunate, since 529s are usually the best choice for savings, for a lot of reasons. On the other hand, it’s not unexpected, given that the vast array of often confusing choices can be a barrier to use. So, how do you choose?

A contribution to your child’s 529 account is, according to the IRS, a gift to your child. This means that it’s subject to annual gift limits: any individual can gift another individual $15,000 in 2021 without reporting it anywhere or paying any taxes on it. In 2022, the limit– or exclusion amount– goes up to $16,000.

Tis the season to put your money where your mouth is. Ways to shift from your kids getting stuff to encouraging family and friends to contribute to your 529 savings plan.

Families of college-bound students are always looking for strategies to manage their Expected Family Contribution, and I’m happy to oblige. However, lowering your EFC is no guarantee of getting financial aid. And that’s why net cost is important.

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.

I had a great time talking college applications, financial aid and scholarships on the 52 Pearls Weekly Money Wisdom podcast. Listen and learn here.

Generally the FAFSA does not count untaxed social benefits as income. Untaxed Social Security, SSI, foster care benefits and welfare payments are excluded from income for the FAFSA, although disability payments and worker’s comp– which are insurance benefits– are added back.

The FAFSA isn’t the only financial aid form; many students and families also need to complete the CSS Profile. The Profile is used by about 400 mostly private colleges and universities.

The college rankings are here! Right in time for students to apply to the best colleges! But wait, which college is best? US News & World Report says Princeton is the best university but Forbes says UC Berkeley is best.

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.

It is both a blessing and a curse that the Common App makes it easy to apply to many colleges. One of the curses is that applications cost money. Enough that you should budget for them. The good news is that having a money budget for applications will automatically create a “time budget” since it might reduce the number of applications you file.