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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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Before your student heads off to college, here are some important forms for them to complete.
Yes, everything is getting more expensive. That includes student loans. Rates for the coming year have been published and they’re a little higher than last year’s rates.
April is Financial Literacy Month, so I’m writing about general financial topics. Today it’s the Eighth Wonder of the World, the power of compounding.
A client’s former advisor told her that she should save $800,000 per child for college. None of my initial reactions to that were appropriate for a client meeting, but how much should you save for college is an important question for a lot of families so let’s dig into that.
Highlights
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 2026! 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.
Filing the FAFSA and CSS Profile raises tons of questions for divorced parents. Here are some answers.
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
Top 10 Reasons to Use a 529
In honor of 529 Day, here are the top 10 reasons to use a 529 college savings plan to save for college.
How Much Should You Save for College?
Saving for college feels like the ultimate moving-the-goalposts goal. How can you make good choices about college savings that won’t derail your family’s other priorities?
Tuition Differentials
Tuition differentials can add significantly to the cost of college. What are they, and will you have to pay them?
The Problem with Parent PLUS Loans
Many financial aid packages include Parent PLUS loans. While these loans can appear to be a good way to close funding gaps, too often they trap older Americans in a debt spiral.
More FAFSA Delays. Now What?
FAFSA data has been delayed again, this time until March. What should you do?
Get Ready: The FAFSA Is Coming
The FAFSA will be available on Dec. 31. Here’s what you need to do to file it.
Thinking of Transferring? Think Fast
If your student comes home for the holidays unenthusiastic about their school and considering transferring, your first impulse might be to tell them to tough it out for the year and reconsider come summer.
2024 Rhodes Scholars
Rhodes Scholars are announced annually on the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and this year’s recipients once again represent a diverse group of colleges.
FAFSA Updates - Big News!
Recent guidance from the Department of Education includes an actual date for the FAFSA and a welcome change to 529s in the formula.
Here’s What Counts
I’ve spent a big chunk of this fall speaking to a variety of groups about college planning. Here are the most important pieces of the plan.
My socials are full of prom and graduation pictures, which means it’s time to talk about how you get money out of the 529 plan to which you’ve been diligently (or otherwise) contributing.