Students who plan on taking out government loans could pay nearly $2,000 more starting July 1st. Just yesterday Congress set the new interest rate for federal student loans at 4.66% starting this fall. The students who are most affected by this change will be the incoming 2014-2015 students, as well as current freshmen in college. What does this mean for students who plan on taking out loans? The interest on student loans can increase by nearly $2,000 over the life of the loan. The new rate of 4.66% was established and announced by Congress just this week on Wednesday, May 7. This increase, although important, isn’t the only area of concern parents should be aware of. In 2014 the national student loan debt exceeded 1.2 Trillion…
Blog
More Scholarships and Grants, Less Loans
I want to congratulate all high school seniors on all of their hard work during school. Just a couple weeks left until graduation and the start of their next chapter begins! Now it’s time to save on the cost of college and pay for it without sacrificing all of your life savings or retirement funds. This is the time of year when most parents of high school seniors are filled with mixed emotions. Some are great, some are exciting, and others a bit nervous or anxious. Sending your child off to college is an extremely delicate subject especially when deciding on the best way to pay for college – one of the most talked about subjects. As the prices of college tuition may scare you, always remember in today’s economy their is a…
How To Negotiate The Best Deal On A College Education For Your Child
When you went to purchase or lease your car – did you accept the first offer they made you, or did you look at their price as a “starting point” for negotiation? What about when you bought your home? Did you purchase it at list price, or did you muster up all of your negotiating skills to try to get the seller to come down in price? So why is college any different? Even the cheapest state schools today will cost you about $10,000 between tuition, fees, books, room and board, and miscellaneous expenses. A private university can easily cost you $40,000 per year and up. Now multiply those amounts by 4 years. And that doesn’t even include graduate school (God forbid!). A college education…
How Will The New SAT Affect My Student?
“The SAT is being redesigned to more closely reflect the core skills and knowledge that current research shows are essential for college readiness and success.”[1] The future direction of the SAT is going to be both useful and beneficial for students. In 2005, the SAT went from a 1600 point scale to a 2400 point scale, until the big news today. Click Here for more information on College Boards’ SAT, the ACT, or more scholarship information Earlier today, College Board announced their plans to redesign and redevelop the SAT in the spring of 2016. Takers of the SAT will now be scored on a 1600 point scale, which is how the SAT was originally scored up until 2005 (this is when they made the essay…
Only 11 Days Left To Fill Out Your FAFSA!
Note: The FAFSA is for graduating high school seniors entering college and for all current college students. Have you started on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)? There’s only 11 days left for California residents to apply. Each state has a different deadline, so if you’re in a different state make sure to visit FAFSA.ED.GOV to find out your deadline. Top 3 reasons to fill out the FAFSA: The federal student aid and government have $150 billion just to help your student pay for college You can qualify for FREE money and not even know it (if you don’t apply, you’d never know) Don’t want loans? If needed, filling out the FAFSA will make the best loans available The deadline to complete…
What Colleges Give The Most Financial Aid?
Over the past few College Planning Workshops, many parents have asked me, “Brian, which colleges are known to give the most financial aid?” I wanted to write this blog to inform parents and students on which colleges are known to have high academic standards while also being the most generous in terms of their financial aid awards. This means less loans and more FREE money for your student. Last week, the Princeton Review released their annual list for the 150 Best Value Colleges in 2014. The list contained 75 public schools and 75 private schools throughout the whole country. The Princeton review takes the following facts into account when creating their list for the 150 Best Value Colleges: Academic Rating – How challenging is…
How Can You Take Charge of College Process?
[fb_button] Did you know the Federal Student Aid (creators of the FAFSA) offers over $150 billion every year to help students go to college? Most parents and students qualify for some type of financial aid (scholarships, grants, loans, etc.) regardless of income, assets, or the student’s GPA. Take charge of the college process and you will be surprised at how much help is out there for your specific family. Even if you do qualify for financial aid, it is important that you know how to apply correctly in order to receive it. In 2013 www.CollegePlanningExperts.com helped the families we work with receive an average financial award package of $21,900 per year. This is free money that they never have to pay back! Also in 2013,…
Brian Safdari on KFWB’s Money 101 w/ Bob McCormick 2014
[fb_button]
How will the $1.2 Trillion College Debt Crisis affect your future?
[fb_button] Do you have a plan for getting accepted and graduating from college? The United States student loan debt just tipped $1 Trillion last year for the first time in history. This amount of debt is HUGE! Take a second and realize just how much $1 Trillion really is. Let me write it out for you $1,000,000,000,000. Believe it or not, student debt is now following after mortgage debt. How much planning and research do you do before purchasing a home? College planning is just as important. Colleges are becoming more and more of a complex system and the odds will be against you if you aren’t in the know. There is no sign of student debt slowing down and in 2014 we should expect…
The 2 Mistakes You Have to Avoid
Tweet In 2014, one of my goals is helping you navigate through the college planning process, so I decided to give you yet another valuable gift! Financial aid season has arrived, and I don’t want you to make the same mistakes I made when filling out the forms. Here are 2 common mistakes on financial aid forms: The #1 mistake students make is leaving a field blank. All income questions must be completed. If the answer is zero, or the question does not apply to you, write in a 0. If you leave an income or asset question blank, the federal processor will assume that you forgot to answer the question. Be careful to write your Social Security Number (SSN) and date of birth…
