We’re reaching that time of year when your senior should be hearing back about where he/she got in to college. But that’s not the only thing on which you should be getting news. Financial aid award letters are beginning to go out, and you want to be prepared. Schools will want to lure you to attend their find institutions, but I think it is important that you understand how to interpret a good award from a bad award. It may seem shocking, but these award letters aren’t straight forward. I recommend you follow these steps: 1.) Know your EFC Make sure you are aware of your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) when comparing awards. Without this figure it is difficult to determine the good awards from…
Blog
7 Things to Consider When Hiring a College Planner
We always get questioned on whether or not we’re a scam. People assume that getting a big discount on college is too good to be true, and anything too good to be true must be a shady business. I’m here to explain to you that this is not the case. In fact, Forbes would agree with me. There are many strategies to get money for college, and if you’re hiring a college planning firm to help… it’s a good decision. They’re the professionals, and they can efficiently provide you with resources to beat the cost of college. You just have to be careful. There is a lot of misconception in the college planning industry. There are lots of companies out there, and it is true…
Can Twitter help you pick the right college?
I’m sure by now you’ve read about colleges using social media accounts to make decisions during the admissions process. If you haven’t, I highly encourage you to check out this article. It is important for high school students to be aware of their activities online, as “35 percent [of college admissions officers, surveyed by Kaplan] said they found something that negatively impacted an applicant’s changes of getting in.” Social media has become an everyday part of life, and you need to be careful of what you put out there; but you also need to be aware of how to use it to your advantage. USA Today posted an article today about a student who used Twitter to choose at which college she would attend. With…
College Planning: 5 Easy Steps
College Planning Experts was in the media today! I was asked to be interviewed for a college planning blog on WhoTrades.com. After my interview I thought the last I could do would be to share the topics with you. If you’re starting to think college, then pay attention! 1.) Don’t think your child is too young to plan This kills me every time! Colleges start to see “pre-packaged college applicants” when high schoolers delay the thought of college until later in their high school careers. If you want to get a handle of this process then start early. I recommend beginning the planning piece (I mean really beginning) in 8th or 9th grade. By then you’ll be able to take a long list of To-Do’s…
Obama: Proposal killed to tax 529 Plan withdrawals
A few weeks ago we wrote about the State of the Union address and how Obama had proposed a tax hike on 529 Plans (used for college savings). We were largely opposed to this tax hike, as families putting money into 529 Plans did so after taxes. If you’re being taxed on income before putting it away to save, why be taxed again for withdrawing from an account in which you’re savings for education costs? Well, during his visit in Indianapolis last week Obama publically stated that this proposal has been killed. He explained that he initially intended to kill 529 Plan’s altogether for some other broad-based loan. He wanted to use the money saved on 529’s to finance the free community college idea; however,…
The Two BIGGEST Mistakes made on Financial Aid Forms
Financial aid season is in full swing, so we thought we’d give you a special gift! Have you ever wondered about some of the most common mistakes on financial aid forms? Well, let me tell you two of the BIGGEST mistakes that can really cost you. 2 common mistakes: Leaving a field blank: All income questions MUST be completed on financial aid forms. If the answer is zero, or the question does not apply to you, write in or type a “0”. If you leave an income or asset question blank, the federal processor will assume that you forgot to answer the question. Fill it all out! Triple check your data entry: Be careful to write your Social Security Number (SSN) and date of birth…
Checklist to Free Money: The Top 7 things you should be doing to get the most financial aid
Alright folks, I always get asked to give checklists and tasks to families in search of financial aid. While I am not a huge fan of giving step-by-step instructions (every family’s situation is different, after all), I did cave a bit. Below are some different things you can be doing RIGHT NOW to maximize your chances of getting financial aid. When I say RIGHT NOW, I don’t mean senior year. These are things you should be considering early on. Here we go! 1.) Make sure your child applies to at least 6-8 colleges/ universities If you want to maximize your financial award offers then colleges need to have some competition. If you recall our blog from last month, we showed you how colleges can use…
College preparation in… Kindergarten?
You read that right, folks. As college admissions trends show that college prep has hit the playground set. Here’s the thing: I am in complete agreement that college conversation is and should be starting earlier than ever before. Does that mean we should be quizzing our 6 year-olds on SAT vocab words? No. What is does mean is that we have to live college conscience. So many families wait until their children are late in their high school years to begin analyzing college lists, and this carries a tremendous cost. If you have not been really building your child up towards an ultimate career, a goal… then how do you expect them to figure out their lifelong journey in just one year? I was speaking…
Secret ways to get more financial aid
Last week I had a very interesting conversation with a father of a junior in high school. He was convinced he should not complete the FAFSA because he thought if he revealed his financial information to colleges then they wouldn’t give his student scholarships and grants. He said he made too much money. He thought just selecting an interest in financial aid on the college application and submitting his student’s stellar SAT scores and awesome G.P.A. was enough. He said he could get merit aid, but not anything related to income. Let me tell you, there are many ways to qualify for the “free” money in financial aid, and step one is submitting a FAFSA. It indicates to the school that you are looking for…
Insider Tips on College Admissions: Why you should start early
While you might have a child in middle school or one that is a freshman, believe me it is not too early to start thinking college. Now don’t worry—I am not trying to scare you into prepping for tests and hunting down head hunters tonight; I am trying to convey the benefits of getting a jump start in the admissions realm. So few families start thinking about college before junior year of high school. And when I say thinking, I mean really thinking critically about schools, majors, careers, financial aid, etc. I know when I went through the college admissions process 10+ years ago I didn’t give it a second thought until the end of my high school career. Think about it. When did you…
