Here is a great article on how and why to talk to your student about paying for college. My favorite quote: “Many students view attending their dream school as the reward for working hard in high school. Instead, parents should portray financial independence in their mid-20s—a goal that’s more easily achieved by saving money in college—as the sweetest reward.”
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Financial Aid
Back in May, the Department of Education released its needs analysis methodology for the 2016-2017 school year’s FAFSA EFC calculation. The big numbers to know from this are the Income Protection Allowance (the amount of parent and student income that is not considered available to pay for college) and the Asset Protection Allowance (ditto for nonretirement assets). The Asset Protection…
The Project on Student Debt has a helpful summary of federal student loan programs, including both loans and repayment options, here. Note the details are for the current school year and things like loan limits and interest rates may receive nominal adjustments for next school year. However, it’s the easiest-to-read summary of all the loan options that I’ve ever seen.
I attended a college planning session this morning that was packed with great information. You know how sometimes the best information is stuff you probably already know? Here is what I think is probably the best piece of advice for families looking at colleges:
Application season is upon us, so before your senior gets too enamored of Very Expensive U, you need to get real about what you can afford. Here are some rules of thumb: Parents can afford to spend no more than 10% of their income on paying for college out of pocket. No, you cannot afford the 47% that the FAFSA…