With college tuition increases outpacing inflation by a substantial margin, it’s normal to ask whether a college degree is worth the cost. One metric for determining that is whether a degree results in lower unemployment. A recent New York Fed report shows that college graduates have consistently lower unemployment rates than those without a degree. Not only that, but during recessionary periods (the shaded areas in the chart below) those without degrees suffer far higher unemployment rates. Continue reading Unemployment Rates
Scholarships and Taxes
Do you have to pay taxes on a scholarship? It depends what the scholarship is for. To understand taxes on scholarships, it’s worth remembering that the IRS defines qualified expenses differently for different purposes. Expenses get more or less the same treatment for taxability of scholarships as they do for education tax credits, so let’s review those. Continue reading Scholarships and Taxes
Student Loan Interest Rates 2019-2020
The May Treasury auction has taken place, which means that federal student loan interest rates for the coming school year have been set. And there’s good news: for the first time in three years, interest rates went down– by about half a percent. Keep in mind that federal student loan interest rates are fixed, meaning borrowers won’t see their costs go up should interest rates change in the future. Continue reading Student Loan Interest Rates 2019-2020
NACAC College Openings Update 2019
As conditioned as we are to thinking about college as a seller’s market where schools have all the leverage, the NACAC College Openings Update, published every May, serves as a reminder that for the majority of schools, students are in the driver’s seat. Continue reading NACAC College Openings Update 2019
Decisions, Decisions
It’s May 1. Do you know where your student will be this fall? Both of mine committed to their top choice several weeks ago so the excitement in our household the last couple of days was more around learning of friends’ decisions. Continue reading Decisions, Decisions
Co-Signing Student Loans
If you’re among the 2/3 of families that will borrow to pay for college, you may be looking at private student loans as one of your options. Unlike federal direct student loans, private student loans typically require a co-signer. It’s vital that parents and others asked to co-sign understand what they are actually doing when co-signing a student loan. Continue reading Co-Signing Student Loans
FAFSA Verification
Every year, about 1/3 of FAFSAs filed are selected for validation, which could be described as FAFSA’s version of an audit. Some FAFSAs are chosen at random for verification, whereas some schools– especially those funding need-based aid out of an endowment– will verify every application. Because verification goes through the school, it’s not unusual for students to first learn about their verification status when they receive an acceptance and financial aid award. Being selected for verification does not typically mean that you’ve done anything wrong, just that you need to provide additional information. Continue reading FAFSA Verification
What is Work Study?
Many financial aid awards include work study. Typically work study is awarded in a dollar amount per academic term, for example $1,000 per quarter. Which leaves a lot of people wondering what it means and how you get it. Continue reading What is Work Study?
Waitlisted?
Students who are waitlisted at their top-choice school should understand how waitlists work, because they can a little bit like Lloyd in Dumb and Dumber: “So you’re telling me there’s a chance!”
Here is a great article explaining how waitlists work. The key takeaway from a money perspective: Waitlists tend to be “need-aware” so waitlisted students who require financial aid to attend should instead focus on the schools at which they’re already accepted. Remember that in addition to the likely lower aid package, you will have to pay a nonrefundable deposit– typically in the $500-$1000 range– at your backup school to retain your spot there since waitlisted students typically are not notified of their acceptance until after May 1.
Coalition App
If you’ve never heard of the Coalition App, count yourself among the many. The Coalition App is similar to the Common App in many respects, including allowing students to create a single application for multiple colleges, but it has some key differences. First and foremost is that the Coalition Application was created by the Coalition for College Access, a group of 140+ (and growing) colleges that “is committed to making college a reality for all high school students through our set of free online college planning tools that helps Continue reading Coalition App
