Guiding Students Along Their Pathway to Success
If your first choice college offers everything you want but the price tag is making you cringe, don’t give up hope; consider appealing your financial aid award. While colleges and universities won’t encourage such an appeal, the financial aid officers are empowered to make adjustments, if deemed warranted. To appeal, do the following: Do … Read More
Families often experience sticker shock when contemplating the cost of college, but it’s the net price, rather than the sticker price, that prospective students need to consider. Each college publishes the COA or Cost of Attendance at that institution. The COA includes room, board, tuition and fees, along with an estimate for books, personal … Read More
As financial aid packages begin to arrive, families are faced with just how much college will cost. At many schools, self-help is up and gift aid is down. That means that colleges are offering less in the way of tuition discounts or grants, and expect families to assume a greater part of the college … Read More
In an effort to avoid losing students to lower-cost public schools, private colleges have been increasing merit-based aid in recent years, with a majority of private colleges awarding scholarships or grants based on merit. In 2018, the average institutional tuition discount rate reached a record high of nearly 50 percent among private colleges, … Read More
Early Decision is a binding admissions decision plan. In exchange for receiving an earlier admissions decision, students applying ED agree that, if they’re admitted, they’ll attend that college and withdraw all of their other college applications. Typically, Early Decision plans have deadlines in early November. Since ED is a binding agreement, students who’ve carefully … Read More
There are a few legal and financial issues that should be addressed before your son or daughter goes off to college. If your child has turned or will turn 18 during the next year, she is legally an adult, and you, her parent, lose the legal authority to make decisions on her behalf. That means … Read More
There are so many moving parts to a student’s search for the ‘right’ college – location, academic options, student services, clubs and organizations, career preparations – but none of them matters if a family is unable to afford that wonderful education. Attending college is a privilege and one that costs a great deal of … Read More
If you’ve applied for financial aid and filed all the paperwork by the appropriate deadline, an award letter outlining a college’s offer of financial assistance should arrive close on the heels of your notification of acceptance. Here’s a guide to understanding what that package really means. The bottom line in comparing financial aid packages … Read More
If you’re the parent of a high school senior and you’re thinking about how to pay for college without going broke, it’s a whole new, expensive world. In this world there are just two kinds of money: “Great money – or Free money” – and “Not-so-Great- money”. Free Money Free money is a … Read More
As we have often said, paying for college is a significant challenge for many families. Once all types of grants, scholarships, work study options, jobs and family contributions are cumulatively considered, many families find they must borrow money to cover the remaining costs. Unlike the grants and scholarships, loans must be repaid — with … Read More