Why Your EFC Should be how you Start Your College Search

playing pieces at start representing using efc to search for colleges

getting started game piecesWhat is EFC? To start your college search, you need to be able to answer this question. If you’re like most parents starting the college search process, you don’t have a clue what EFC means. In fact, most parents don’t understand until they are well into the college application process which is not a good thing.

So what is EFC? EFC stands for “Expected Family Contribution” and is the term used by the Federal Government and colleges to state how much parents are expected to pay for their child’s college education. (EFC is being renamed the “Student Aid Index” for the 24-25 award year but it will still function the same as EFC.)

Read more

How Much Should Students Borrow for College?

Money representing how much should students borrow for college

graduation hat on money representing how much money you should borrow for collegeAnyone who pays attention to the media has heard the alarming reports about student debt. In the United States student loan debt is about $1.7 trillion which exceeds the total credit card balance. Scary numbers. You would expect the question, “How much should I borrow for college?” to be the question that all students and their families are asking. But I don’t’ think that’s actually the case. Let me explain why.

Read more

5 Ways to Get Smart About Financial Aid Award Letters

Person trying to understand financial aid award letterAfter diligently reporting their families’ financial information as accurately as possible in the FAFSA under the threat of a $20,000 fine and/or prison, high school seniors are anxiously waiting to receive their financial aid award letters. Now, even though each student’s family situation is different, applicants all completed a standard form for financial aid. Major financial factors such as loss of job or health issues have to be addressed in a separate letter to the financial aid office.

So why will the student probably receive financial aid award letters in as many formats as colleges applied to and often designed to deliberately mislead families on how much money they will have to pay?

Read more

Where to Find the Best Scholarships

2 kittens trying to find the best scholarships on the computer

kittens trying to find the best scholarshipsSometime during their senior year in high school, students will start receiving notices from the counseling office on tips on how to find scholarships and news about the various available college scholarships. These scholarships will probably range in the $250 to $1,000 range with a few hitting $5,000. They’ll be encouraged to start using the different scholarship search websites so that they won’t have to take out student loans. By January, they’ll hear that if only they would get organized and be persistent in their scholarship search, they can take advantage of all the college scholarships out there that haven’t been taken because no one applied.

Read more

31 Potential Colleges for Students with a Full-Pay Hook

Money representing colleges for full pay students

Money representing colleges for full pay studentsFamilies that can’t afford to pay the sticker-price for private colleges need to do two things. The first is identify which schools are more likely to provide need or merit aid. The second is avoid those that are less likely to do so. This means steering clear of “dream” schools that may rank in terms of prestige but subsequently aren’t as generous with financial aid as some of their peers.

Read more

Financial Aid for Low Income Students-No Cause for Envy

hands grabbing money representing financial aid for low income studentsWhen I went to college, back in the 80’s, my Pell Grant covered my tuition. My parents were usually able to help pay for books and my student loans and part-time jobs paid for room and board. Thanks to financial aid, I was able to graduate from an honors program at my state flagship university in four years.

How many people can do that today?

Read more

Best 100 Universities and the Ticket to the American Dream

American flag with books and graduationThanks to US News College Rankings, we know what are the “Best” 100 universities in the country. If you want to know specifically what they are best at, you can find out here. But how good are they at making sure that attending the “Best” University isn’t limited by economic need?

After all, despite the current economic situation, college graduates still make more money than high school graduates so a college degree is considered a ticket to the American Dream. And if you can get into one of US News College Rankings top 100 Universities–that should be a first class ticket.

Read more