The FAFSA itself won’t be available until Oct. 1, but in the meantime you can download the EFC Formula Guide to see how the sausage gets made. If you are a parent of a high school senior who will be completing the FAFSA this fall for whom the cost of college is important, here is a suggestion for how to…
Families who borrow for college have a lot of choices: federal or private student loans, personal loans, home equity loans, 401k loans… How do you decide? Let’s look at pros and cons of some of these, starting with the federal loan programs. Federal direct loans– whether student or parent loans– have a number of benefits: Fixed interest rates Income-driven repayment…
That title was a trick. I’m actually going to write about how much you should contribute to a 529 first. Lately I’ve heard versions of the same question again and again: After a year of no travel, eating out or other activities, people are sitting on extra cash that they want to direct towards college. Many are wondering what’s the…
Now that the May Treasury auction has taken place, student loan interest rates for the 2021-2022 school year are set. This year’s yield on the 10-year treasury was 1.684%, up about 1% from a year ago. Since student loan interest rates are fixed markups from the May treasury yield, that means student loan interest rates will go up about 1%…
Lew De Luca is the immensely helpful Student Financial Literacy and Advising coordinator at the University of Southern Connecticut. In that role, he helps students and families understand college costs and develop workable plans to minimize debt. In my latest podcast episode, he walked me through some of the key pieces of college financial literacy. His wisdom is available here…
