Parents
Why You Shouldn’t Apply to a Reach School
In my last post on deciphering financial aid letters, I focused on college grants. Grants are the best kind of aid that you can snag in a financial aid letter because these awards don’t have to be repaid.
College Grants: Decoding a Financial Aid Letter Part II
My son has been receiving financial aid awards from colleges [...]
College Grants: Decoding a Financial Aid Letter Part II
This is my second post on deciphering college financial aid packages. Yesterday, I explained what sort of federal financial aid assistance you might find in your financial aid award.
How To Decode a Financial Aid Letter
Today, I’m going to cover the types of college grants that parents typically find in a financial aid letter.
College Grants
Many families [...]
9Mar2010 | Lynn | 1 comment | Continued
How To Decode a Financial Aid Letter
It’s the college financial aid season.
Some parents are still struggling to complete their financial aid application, while others are just beginning to receive their financial aid packages in the mail.
Once you receive a financial aid award, the challenge is to decipher it. I’m going to help you master these financial aid letters by looking at [...]
Heck Yeah, It’s Hard to Qualify as an Independent Student
It is hard to qualify as an independent college student when seeking federal financial aid. I wrote about this big hurdle recently in this post:
Getting Financial Aid as an Independent Student
Yesterday about four dozen students posted passionate comments on my blog after Chegg, the giant online source for textbook rentals, carried a post that I [...]
Why You Don’t Need a Student Credit Card
Beginning this week, it became much harder for college students to obtain a credit card.
Many college kids who aren’t 21 yet must get a cosigner to obtain a student credit card. Frankly, I think that’s a good thing.
A far better alternative to that first credit card in college is a debit card, which you can [...]
Schools With the Best College Financial Aid – For Now
What schools offer the best college financial aid?
Last month, I wrote this post: 51 Colleges With the Best Student Financial Aid.
Please take a look at the list because it includes schools with awesome financial aid policies that will reduce your stress about how you will pay for college. Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania and [...]
How to Avoid 9 FAFSA Form Mistakes
It’s FAFSA season, which is why I’ve been bumping into parents who are grumbling about filing out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid.
It’s no wonder that parents grumble. The FAFSA isn’t a user friendly document and it’s easy to make mistake. Paula Bishop, a CPA friend of mine in Bellevue, WA., who fills out [...]
Getting Financial Aid As an Independent Student
I periodically get emails from teenagers, who are freaking out because their parents plan to contribute little if anything to their college education.
Many of these kids are from affluent families, who could afford to kick in far more than they are planning. I don’t understand parents with good paying jobs who have no problem dumping [...]
Top 10 College Websites for Finding Great Schools
Want to research colleges, but not sure where to start?
It’s no surprise. When I just typed “college” into Google, I got 634 million college websites. To make your job easier, I’m sharing wonderful websites that can help you assemble a great list of colleges.
If you want to research specific colleges, here are my Top 10 [...]
10 Great College Tips for 2010
Happy New Year. I want to usher in 2010 by sharing 10 of my college blog posts from last year that I think will help you:
Cut the cost of college.
Find scholarships.
Snag better financial aid packages.
Locate great schools.
Cutting the cost of college with better grades
How to Negotiate for a Better Financial Aid Package
Will Saving for College [...]
