The College Board’s annual Trends in College Pricing report came out recently and as always, includes some fascinating data. For instance: Continue reading Trends in College Pricing
Monthly Archives: November 2017
FAFSA Custodial Parent
For divorced parents, figuring out who is the custodial parent for FAFSA filing purposes can be a little confusing. Actually, the rules are pretty simple: the custodial parent is the one with whom the student spends the most time. That’s not necessarily the parent named custodial parent in the divorce decree, or the one claiming the student on their tax return. Continue reading FAFSA Custodial Parent
Outside Scholarships
Outside scholarships are those that come from someone other than the federal government or your school. Examples include National Merit Scholarships, scholarships from your or your parents’ employers, or from other civic institutions. Although these scholarships can be very valuable, there is a big difference between them and institutional grants coming from your school: You have to report them on your FAFSA or Continue reading Outside Scholarships
Tax Reform Bill and College
The tax bill that was finally introduced last week impacts higher education in a number of ways, most of them negative for students and families. Here is a quick summary:
Education tax credits: The bill slightly expands the American Opportunity Tax Credit but eliminates the Lifetime Learning Credit. While the AOTC is more generous than the LLC ($2,500 in tax credits for $4,000 in qualified expenses for the AOTC vs $2,000 in Continue reading Tax Reform Bill and College
Superscoring
With standardized test season in full swing, let’s talk briefly about superscoring. (Why, on a paying for college blog, are we talking about standardized tests? Because they’re one of the best tools for earning merit aid.) Continue reading Superscoring
