Do Parents and Teens Overestimate College Costs?

Many of you have heard this statistic released by the U.S. Census Bureau: on average, college grads earn $1 million more in a lifetime than students who only have a high school diploma. But just because college grads can earn a million doesn’t mean you have to pay a million to get your child [...]

Finding Money for College in Unexpected Places

The college years can put a strain on any parent’s pocketbook, but you’d be surprised how a few simple changes can help you build nickels and dimes into college-cash dollars.
Being Nickeled and Dimed. I’m sure you’ve heard someone say they’re being “nickeled and dimed to death.” A lot of people tend to overlook [...]

Be Wary of Loan Search Websites

As evidenced by the student loan scandal earlier this year, it seems that people are always coming up with ways to make a buck off families putting their students through school.
I briefly mentioned the problem of new “loan search websites” a few months ago, but unfortunately it seems that new conflicts keep popping up. [...]

Some Private Schools are Going Easy on Counting Home Equity when Awarding Financial Aid

Families that live in certain areas of the country, especially on the two coasts, find themselves sitting with a huge amount of equity in their homes – even during the current real estate market downturn. Students who are applying to any of the 300 or so private schools that require the CSS Profile financial [...]

You May Pay MORE for College by Applying Early Decision

My son has been busy filling out his college admission applications. I have been impressed how organized he is. He has created a spreadsheet to track each school’s application deadlines and whether or not they require letters of recommendation or an interview. He has also looked at all the essay questions and has written an [...]