I love when my readers suggest topics and posts for me! Today’s Wall Street Journal has an interesting discussion among a high school senior, a recruiting director for a major professional services firm, and a college professor, about whether or not prestigious colleges are worth the money. The article is here.
and rapidly! Just because the “official” federal FAFSA deadline for next school year isn’t until next June doesn’t mean you can wait. Why?
Divorced parents are probably already well aware that the financial piece of planning for college is mystifying at best. With tax season upon us, divorced parents planning to claim one of the available college tax credits– American Opportunity Tax Credit or Lifetime Learning Credit– need to know that the credit is only available to the parent who claims the student…
Many two-income Oregon families end up owing AMT due to our two-legged tax “stool.” That’s because, absent sales tax, we pay higher income and property taxes. For most non-1%-ers who end up owing AMT, state taxes are the biggest add-back item in the AMT calculation.* That means that if you’re paying AMT, a 529 plan contribution can be doubly beneficial. Without…
The College Board’s 2014 Trends in College Pricing report highlights some interesting points about the cost of attending college. One item stood out in particular to me: While average published prices increased from the 2013-2014 to 2014-2015 school year in all higher ed sectors (by 2.9% for four-year public in-state, 3.3% for four-year public out-of-state, and 3.7% at four-year private non-profits), average net…