What You Need to Know About How to File the FAFSA

There are so many reasons why every family should file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (commonly called the FAFSA), but most families find it very intimidating. That’s why this year I’ve put together this list of five things you need to know about filing the FAFSA!
1. Where to File:
The FAFSA is available online [...]

Need Help Paying for College? Get a Sponsor!

Having trouble meeting college costs without taking on debt? Why not get a sponsor? A new website called GradeFund is attempting to help students do just that. Students sign up to get funded by family, friends, and even corporate sponsors based on the grades they earn. How it Works Started by brothers Michael [...]

New President, New Help for Higher Education

With the presidential race finally over and President-Elect Barack Obama preparing to take office in January, it seems a good time for us to begin discussing his plans for our higher education system.
Problems and Solutions
The President-Elect’s platform described what he sees as the most important troubles of our current higher education system:

Rising college costs [...]

Wait for a Wait-List, Pay More for College

With the “baby boom” generation’s children graduating high school in record numbers (3.2 million last year alone!) it is no surprise that college applications have increased proportionally.
This year college admissions offices have reported a deluge of applications-Princeton’s were up by 6%, Rice by 11%, Harvard’s by 19%, and Vanderbilt’s by a staggering 30%!
Waiting and Wait-Listing
While [...]

My FAFSA Assistant: Your Ticket to Affordable Help With the FAFSA

It’s that time again! The last holiday decorations are finally put away, the kids are back in school, and the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (a.k.a. the “FAFSA”) is online and ready to be filed. But don’t panic! For the first time ever, there is a new tool available for affordable [...]

Harvard Offers Financial Aid to Families Making $180,000 or Less

For a while it seemed that affluent or the lower income could “afford” a high-quality education at an elite college—the affluent because they have the funds to pay, the lower income because they could count on more financial aid. The middle-income families, however, seemed left to fend for themselves.
Happily, Harvard announced a plan last week [...]

Financial Aid for the Middle (High-Middle?) Class

For a long time now, lower-income students have been offered need-based federal and school aid to help them attend college. Meanwhile, many middle-class families have struggled to meet the cost of college without the same benefits of aid. The tide seems to be turning in the elite colleges.
Some of the most prestigious U.S. [...]

House Democrats Promote New College Legislation on YouTube with Fancy Dance Steps

When I saw this latest YouTube video posted by the House Education and Labor Committee, I knew I had to pass it on to my readers. After all, how often do you get to see someone in politics literally dancing in the streets?
The Education and Labor Committee made this video to promote the College Cost [...]

Why You Should Tackle the FAFSA

Most people look forward to filling out the FAFSA (which stands for Free Application for Federal Student Aid) about as much as they look forward to filing their taxes. And it’s no wonder! At an intimidating 5 pages (or a dizzying number of online pages), and with the complexity inherent in any government document, the [...]

Scholarships Replace Loans for Low-Income Families

Very few colleges have taken the initiative to offer students scholarships in place of loans. This summer, Amherst College in Massachusets joined the ranks of schools like Princeton and Davidson College by implementing a new financial aid program.
Amherst’s program is targeted to help students graduate debt-free. Under the new policy, students will receive scholarship money [...]