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…
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.)
You may have seen news this year about Operation Game of Loans, a crackdown by the Federal Trade Commission and 11 state attorneys general on student debt relief scams. Dozens of bad actors are accused of having collected close to $100 million in bogus fees that were marketed to student loan debtors as debt relief programs. In addition, they often…
The change in the FAFSA’s timing from winter to fall has some potentially unforeseen consequences. One is student summer jobs. Even at minimum wage, a student who worked full-time for the summer may have earned $3,000 or more. Students who saved their summer income with the intent to spend it over the course of the school year may
This article from Ron Lieber at the New York Times highlights some recent bipartisan efforts to help students and families better understand the cost of college. (As he points out towards the end, even if these come to no avail, the information is available to those who seek it.)